Kage no Kitsune, Sennin no Musuko
by Angeldoctor
Summary: Time is relative. Milllennia spent in the Elemental Nations was a little over a decade in the Dxd verse. Returned to his original dimension after millennia in the Elemental Nations, Kurama must now fight to defend the family he left behind... and discover whether he has anything worth fighting for in the first place.
1. Prologue

****Disclaimer:** **All publicly recognizable characters, setting, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. All other concepts and ideas from other books or stories belong to their respective authors. No copyright infringement is intended.****

* * *

 ** **Kyoto, Japan (thirteen years before DxD canon)****

The Kinkaku-ji Temple was one of the most popular tourist destinations in all of Kyoto. History states that it had originally been built by a powerful statesman named Saionji Kintsune before being bought by a Shogun whose son later transformed it into a Zen temple.

The temple had a long history and many people visited it whether they be tourists or residents of the city. The temple never lacked for visitors of various types who gossiped about the temple's long history and many people who considered themselves "experts" on the temple's history often gave tours of the place.

If only those supposed "experts" knew how little they actually knew of the place and its true history.

Currently, the temple was empty due to the late hour and the setting sun illuminated the ancient place that still held various secrets hidden within. The sun reflected off the temple, given it an ethereal glow that made it look almost magical, a place that reminded those who visited of times when they believed that supernatural creatures walked among them and the temple was a center of great many secrets.

One of those secrets was shown when a small portal opened up near the gates of the temple, invisible to any and all non-youkai thanks to the various illusions and spells built and maintained by the temple guards.

Out of said portal came a running red-orange furred fox-like creature with eight tails before the portal closed behind him. The creature was a marvelous specimen, being larger than the largest dog with fur so red it was almost crimson. It's eight tails were long and thin instead of being short and fluffy like most fox tails, seeming almost like tentacles than tails. This was because it wasn't a normal fox but rather a kitsune, a species of youkai whose power is denoted by its number of tails with nine being the highest, strongest and, according to legend anyway, wisest of all.

Normally, the sight of such an obviously supernatural creature would have caused any humans to panic but luckily, the late hour meant there was no one near the temple. Yet even if any mortal had been around at the time, they would not have given the obvious youkai a second glance. This was thanks to the various illusions placed on both around the temple and the ones the kitsune himself placed on him, weak and basic though the latter were.

Despite being a kitsune, none as master illusionists, illusions had never been this particular kitsune's forte. However, he knew enough to hide his presence from human sight like all youkai were required to in this day and age.

However, even if he hadn't placed illusions hiding his presence, the humans would have only seen him for barely a second before he disappeared from sight. The kitsune moved so fast that anyone who saw it would believe it had been nothing more than a mirage or a trick of the light from the setting sun. The kitsune wasted no time in leaving the temple grounds, running out toward the wider Kyoto city.

Soon after the kitsune disappeared from the temple grounds, the portal he exited from opened once more. Unlike before, the portal did not close behind the person after they stepped through as they seemed to look around as if searching for something or someone.

This second being had the form of a beautiful voluptuous woman with long blonde hair and matching golden eyes. She was wearing a red and white shrine maiden outfit that somehow seemed both majestic and regal despite its simplicity while highlighting her magnificent curves. The woman in question was so beautiful that anyone who beheld her would agree that she could pose as a model and become very successful doing so if it wasn't for the fact that she gave off an air closer to royalty that denied her ever participating in such an act.

Yet while she seemed very different from the previous person to walk through the portal, she had one thing in common. That was the fact that she had multiple fox tails coming from her back, just above her butt. The differences was that instead of having eight red-orange tails, she had nine golden furred tails that matched her hair and eyes.

This was none other than Yasaka, leader and Kyuubi Empress of the Japanese Youkai Faction.

Behind her, another youkai stepped out of the portal, this one looking like a bird-man of some kind which any Japanese-raised person could identify as a tengu, though this one seemed much older than his Empress.

The tengu walked forward till he stood beside his Empress. "Has he run away again, Lady Yasaka?"

Yasaka huffed in frustration. "Yes. Every time we argue, it's always about the same thing. The devils or rather his refusal to make peace with them." The frustrated look on her face became a sad and dejected one. "What does he have against them? I understand not trusting them especially with their hand in my father's corruption but things have changed. I don't understand why he's so stubborn and violent about not making peace with them at all." Her soft golden eyes turned slightly teary in her frustration and sadness. "Why won't he talk to me? Doesn't he see I'm trying to create a better world for our children?"

The Elder tengu hummed in thought. He thinks there was something more to why Kurama was so hostile toward devils but kept his thoughts to himself. If he hadn't told Lady Yasaka the true reason he joined the Revolution all those years ago then it wasn't his place to do so. "Well, regardless, Lord Kurama will be back soon enough. He's never gone for longer than a week at most. For now, we should return to the capital. That argument must have tired you out, especially in your condition."

At his words, Yasaka's hands went to her stomach, specifically her womb, where she had just found out three days ago that a life was growing. She had yet to tell her mate and husband about the pregnancy. She had hinted at having children beforehand and Kurama had never seemed very receptive to the idea. In fact, he had seemed almost terrified at the idea of becoming a father. She knew that Kurama never had a good relationship with his own father but she never knew the specifics. The circumstances revolving Kurama's father's death were shrouded in mystery and she believed that whatever happened was at the core of Kurama's fear.

However, any attempt to talk about it ended in failure. He seemed determined to not bring up the past in any way and any attempt to do so caused him to react violently so she had learned to simply not bring it up to keep the peace.

Due to this, she was extremely reluctant to tell him about her pregnancy, afraid of how he would react. Not to mention that she knew that as the pregnancy developed, she would grow weaker and weaker to nourish the life growing in her wound. Eventually she would need to pass the managing of the leylines to Kurama or risk losing her growing child. She _could_ do both but that would keep her almost completely bedridden during her entire pregnancy, something she was not willing to risk with the current government being so new and unstable.

This meant she would have to tell Kurama so he could take over ruling during her pregnancy. Though she was afraid of what he would do with that power at his disposal. His hatred towards devils and his desire to cut any and all contact with them left her disinclined to passing on rulership to him, even if it was temporarily. He would undo all the work she'd done over the past year to heal the rift between youkai and devils caused by the revolution and their hand in it.

"I guess you're right," said Yasaka reluctantly. With one last look toward where she felt her husband was heading, the Empress followed her advisor back through the portal where it closed behind them.

Back with the first kitsune, now known as Kurama, the male kitsune easily ran through the human alleys, so similar to the ones he lived in during his later teenage years. During that time, he had had nothing but his sister, his wits and his own strength keeping him alive and many times, it had almost not been enough.

For his sister, it hadn't been.

Yet he had survived and not only that but thrived, becoming one of the most powerful youkai in Inner Kyoto. The fact that he was a hybrid only further magnified his success, rubbing his nose at all those purists who believed that only those of pure blood could achieve such power.

Yet despite his great strength, even he was weaker than his wife due to her mastery of channeling the power of the leylines, something that galled him deeply. Kurama was someone who believed that one's strength was defined by one's strength of will to overcome adversity and obstacles and the fact that his wife was stronger than him despite having never earned it or suffered a single day in her life frustrated him deeply. The fact that he had yet to achieve his own ninth tail while his wife had achieved her years ago only made it worse.

The eight-tailed kitsune eventually entered a small clearing that had a small pond in the middle. The place was special to Kurama, being a place with one of his few happy memories. He remembered playing in this very clearing with the only one of his family members who had loved him unconditionally during his childhood, even after his hybrid status was revealed. For that reason, it was sacred in his eyes and he always made sure that it was left pristine and untouched.

For this reason, the clearing had a permanent illusion over it placed there by Kurama himself and no one but him could find it much less enter it. He visited the place when he wanted to be alone and had spent much time making sure that no one but him could find it. His wife may mean well but the idea of her finding this place and no doubt dragging him back "for his own good" was almost enough to send him into a fit of rage at the thought. The thought of anyone, even her, coming here and defiling this place with their presence was enough to make him go on a murderous rampage.

The kitsune eventually slowed down once he entered the clearing, coming to a complete stop near the pond. With a flash of light, the multi-tailed fox disappeared and a man, albeit one with eight fox tails, took his place.

The man was fairly handsome with short red-orange hair that was similar to his fur in texture and look. He was muscular, not like a bodybuilder but closer to a swimmer's physique that emphasized speed over strength. He was wearing what seemed to be a black muscle shirt and blue GI pants that clung tightly to his muscled frame.

This was Kurama, husband of Empress Yasaka and former leader of the Revolutionary Army during the Youkai Civil War.

The male kitsune scowled as he looked down at his reflection in the pond. He knew he shouldn't have run but he knew that if he stayed his wife would try to force him to talk to her, thinking it would help him. She knew that if he left, he would brood and come back in a worse mood than before.

Whether it was true or not, he despised being told what to do, least of all by his wife regardless of her status as the Empress. The one thing he had always treasured was his independence and his wife thinking she could tell him what to do angered him to no end.

The fact that she was stronger than him and could force him to obey only deepened his anger at the situation. It reminded him too much of his childhood, too weak to please his father or defend himself from his "punishments". For that reason, he left whenever he lost his constant challenges for the throne or any of their arguments, needing sometime alone lest he lash out and say something that he couldn't take back.

He scowled as he thought about his peace-loving wife desire to open peace talks with the devils. The very idea of making peace with those monsters filled him with a black rage that threatened to spill out of him every time he thought of those fucking devils. He scoffed at the very idea of them wanting "peace" and "moving on" from the past.

In the back of his mind, he could still hear his sister's screams and her tormentor's laughter.

No. He would _never_ forgive those devils. No matter what they said, they were no different that they're ancestors. The fact they had the audacity to now forcibly turn others into their kind just made it worse.

Oh sure, they may say that it was to save the species but to Kurama that was bullshit. It was about power and nothing else. If they truly wanted to reclaim their lost numbers, they could have simply have made a deal with one of the many fertility goddesses to increase their fertility and therefore, their chances of getting pregnant. But no. Kami forbid they abandon their pride to ask others for help. Better to steal what isn't theirs than to give up their pride.

He scoffed. And they wondered why everyone hated them. Given a choice between doing what's right and what's easy, they always choose the latter. Like he said before, a devil was a devil no matter what they said and they would never change. Fucking abominations that should have never have existed and if he had the chance he'd exterminate them all; man, woman and child.

"Argh!" yelled Kurama in a rage. "Fucking bitch! Why can't she just listen to me for once instead of those idiot councillors!? Stupid stubborn bitch!"

He knew he was being hypocritical. He never told her the reason behind his hatred for devils despite having asked him many times. However, he just couldn't tell her. It would mean revisiting a painful memory he had buried deep beneath his hatred of devils and those in power.

The source of his greatest pain and greatest shame.

Since then, he had become desperate for power so something like that would never happen again. In this world, power decided everything and if you didn't have power you couldn't protect anything, least of all yourself.

He had a total of eight tails and was still waiting to acquire the last one to become a true Kyuubi. His mixed blood meant that unlike his mate, he needed to work twice as hard to gain his tails. It was something that bothered him greatly but at least it meant he'd earned his strength. This contrasted greatly with his _pureblood_ wife who gained hers simply because of her blood and not because she'd worked for them. His mate's power currently exceeded his own, and he didn't like that one bit especially since it smacked in the face of Kurama's own beliefs and pride.

He had worked hard for his power and fought and scrapped for every skill and ability. The fact that she had gained hers simply for being lucky enough to be born in the right family grated him deeply and every defeat at her hands every time he challenged her for the throne only hurt him more.

While he truly cared for and loved his wife, their marriage had originally come from needing a political symbol to demonstrate the end of the Kyoto Civil War three years ago. As the leader and symbol of the rebellion, he married his childhood friend and the heir to the Kyoto throne, Yasaka, to symbolize the union of the past (tradition) with the promise of the future (equal rights). It not only ended the Kyoto Civil War but was a sign that things were supposed to get better for the lower-classes.

And overall it had. The nobility still existed but had been stripped of any political power and heavily fined for their part in supporting Yasaka's father's madness and their own part in countless atrocities. The current council was divided into two parts: the Advisory Council which was made up the elected leader of each youkai species and the Representative Council which was made up of representatives of each youkai. The difference between them was that the Representative Council had more representatives depending on the population of the species. For example, the kitsune (the most populous species) had five representatives compared to the two for the nekomata.

Of course, all power still rested in the Empress' hands but the Councils were meant to symbolize the needs of the people both in terms of species and overall population. Due to this and Yasaka's own kindness, things for the lower-classes had improved tremendously compared to before the Civil War and both Kurama and Yasaka had become the most celebrated leaders of the youkai race in centuries.

Of course, things weren't perfect. Due to him only being an eight tails, the managing of the leylines wasn't shared between them like it had been in previous Emperors and their consorts. This was because they thought he would eventually be overwhelmed by the power like previous non-kyuubi kitsune had been in the past. Due to this, it was decided that Yasaka would have sole control of the leylines until he gained his ninth tail.

Of course, Kurama did not like this at all since he believed it was simply racism due to his hybrid status. Deep down, he knew that wasn't it but the fact that he was so close to the power he so desperately wanted yet was denied it after everything simply due to his blood angered him to no end. For this reason, he constantly challenged Yasaka for the throne in order to prove he could handle the power of the leylines.

Unfortunately, his wife not only had the large power from being a nine tails to draw on but also tap into the magical ley lines of Kyoto which held near limitless power. While all former Kyuubi leaders could tap into the ley lines' power, none before Yasaka could channel such a large amount at once or use it in combat with such proficiency. It was a source of pride for many youkai and a sign for the blood purists of the superiority of pure blood over mixed blood.

While Kurama was very proud of his wife for this accomplishment, it was also a source of endless frustration for the proud kitsune. Ever since he was young, he hated to be weak. After everything he endured and lost in his life due to his weakness, he sought strength above all. To be so thoroughly outclassed angered him beyond words, something shown in the fights between his wife and him. Each time he had been beaten with any injuries on Yasaka being minor and healing quickly due to the healing properties of the ley lines' power.

Kurama's tails moved around in agitation, kicking up dirt and breaking things as they lashed out physically, demonstrating their owner's anger.

The entire situation made him want to just abandon the city and leave, travel as he had in his teens or even go find Kinana and take her up on her offer of living with the nekomata. Maybe he should take her up on her offer to learn senjutsu under her. While he didn't want to abandon Yasaka, the current situation was intolerable to him. They weren't so much equals as he was a prisoner with her being the warden, forced to go along with everything she wanted without any say in the matter. But maybe if he mastered senjutsu, he would finally have the power to force her to his way of thinking. He hadn't used it since _that day_ but if it was what would close the gap between them, then he would anything to get the power needed.

Anything.

"Just you wait," growled Kurama lowly. "I'll get my ninth tail and master senjutsu and then we'll see who's beaten into the ground and forced to concede!"

"Then why don't you?" A voice asked from the side.

Startled, his slit eyes snapped towards the voice, only to pause in slight shock at the sight.

The person he saw standing behind him was a tall and pale-skinned elderly man with deep wrinkles to show his age. The elderly man had spiky, shoulder-length, pale-red hair, with a chin-length braid hanging in front of his left ear as well as sporting a goatee which tapered down to his waist. Horn-like protrusions adorned his forehead while ringed patterns replaced his pupils in his eyes. He wore a white, full-length kimono with a pattern of six black magatama around a high collar along with a necklace which was also made up of six black magatama. A strange black staff was secured to his back, and he was sitting on a bench with two hands pressed against his knee as if they were to hold his weary body up.

The demonic fox was sure he was completely alone seconds ago. His senses were sharper than normal kitsune and he had been alert in case he was followed. So how did this man sneak up on him?

Kurama tensed up and prepared for a probably losing fight. Very few could avoid his senses and those that could were not to be underestimated. So for this man to so easily do this spoke volumes about his strength.

The being (because he couldn't be human with those horns) looked very tired, as if he had been carrying a great weight for a very long time. Despite that, he gave off an aura of strength that bluntly told Kurama that if he fought him, he would be swept aside like a bug. This only made Kurama all the warier and he tensed up in case he had to defend himself or, as much as it irked him to admit it, run.

"Who are you?" Kurama asked warily, taking in the man's appearance. He'd never seen such being before, but there was a first time for everything. Could it be a devil? They did tend to have numerous abilities and appearances but something told him that this wasn't the case. He could also be some kind of half-breed youkai. The horns were similar to an Oni's yet he had two instead of the usual one. A mutation perhaps?

"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first before asking another person's name?" The elderly man replied with a small smile.

A tick mark appeared on Kurama's forehead at being taught manners by someone who sneaked up on him but he relented. "I am Kurama, the great Kyuubi, so tell me who you are!" Kurama demanded in his usual arrogant manner. It was mostly bluster since he was getting unnerved with the fact that despite being right in front of the man, he still couldn't sense his power. Was it nonexistent and that was why Kurama didn't sense it? Or was he that good at hiding it?

"Kyuubi? Ah yes… but you're still missing one more tail to make it nine," the man said as he analyzed the creature before nodding approvingly. It was as if he had found what he was seeking for. "I am known as Hagoromo Otsutsuki, Sage of Six Paths."

The reminder of his missing his ninth tail annoyed Kurama since it seemed as if the being was pointing out his hybrid status as the reason he lacked it despite being full grown. "I will get my ninth tail! It's only a matter of time! In a few decades, nobody will challenge my powers, and I'll use it to show those asshole devils who use those Evil Pieces of theirs as a reason to subjugate others their place! Bwahahahaha!" Kurama retorted before laughing hysterically, imagining the destruction he would wreck upon those that challenged him.

Hagoromo stroke his beard a little with a free hand. He was deep in thought, allowing the young man to continue in his delusional fantasy. Hagoromo wondered if he should point out the hypocrisy of Kurama using force to subjugate them for the crime of subjugating others but decided against it. That was a lesson that needed to be learned, not taught.

After Kurama stopped being an idiot, Hagoromo finally spoke up. "I am looking for a vessel. If you could help me in that regard, I'm sure I can shorten the time you needed to get your final tail. I will also give you something more as a bonus, Kurama," Hagoromo offered as said person narrowed his menacing eyes at the man.

Kurama was suspicious, but his desire for power and being denied it for so long had made him so desperate that it overcame his own vigilance. "You can? Show me!" Kurama demanded angrily.

Hagoromo nodded. He took the strange staff from his back and tapped it against the air to his side. The air distorted around the impact point, and black lines appeared before spiraling like a whirlpool into some kind of dark portal.

Kurama stepped back a little after sensing the rift in space. He had seen many strange things in his life, but never something like this. The portal pulsed with strange and unknown energy that seemed to fill the air with malicious intentions.

"If you accept then follow me as you will be the last of the nine. I can say that you will be the strongest and greatest of them. However, you will disappear from here for a little while, and one day you will meet a child of prophecy. You will help him accomplish his goal and you will be given a chance to return here again," Hagoromo hinted as Kurama's eyes narrowed even further at his words.

Kurama was about to accept but suddenly hesitated. If he did this, he would effectively be abandoning his wife for an undetermined length of time. She had been one of his closest friends his entire life and his first love. She had married him despite his infamous reputation and hybrid status and while they had their differences, they had a mostly happy marriage. He truly did love her despite everything but if what the man said was true...

"What are the Nine?" asked Kurama to buy time to think.

The old man seemed to know the reason behind his hesitance but answered. "The Nine will be known as the Bijuu. Each will have the ability to remodel a country and landscape with just a flick of their tail. I need them to contain a certain being's energy. They are: _Shukaku_ the Ichibi, _Matatabi_ the Nibi, _Isobu_ the Sanbi, _Son Goku_ the Yonbi, _Kokuo_ the Gobi, _Saiken_ the Rokubi, _Chomei_ the Nanabi, _Gyuuki_ the Hachibi, and finally you, if you choose to accept, will be _Kurama_ the Kyuubi," Hagoromo answered truthfully.

"I will have nine tails? The strongest?" Kurama asked excitedly, visions of the power he will gain, strong enough to apparently remodel countries with ease, filling his mind and destroying any sense of caution he would usually have. Even if it was an exaggeration, it would be more than enough power to do what he wanted.

Hagoromo nodded to confirm his words. "However, I will need to seal your memory of this place along with your body until such time as a certain event will come to pass," he added after some thought, seeing how Kurama was quite arrogant, and that might be a bad thing if he allowed him to roam freely with that kind of behavior and the power he'll have at his fingertips.

"Let's do it then!" Kurama howled decidedly.

The sage stroked his beard and entered the portal first to show that it was safe. It was soon followed by the demon fox without any hesitation. The portal closed behind them, leaving no trace of what transpired behind them.

* * *

As the Sage had promised, all nine creatures he had collected from different worlds were given a piece of Juubi's, the ten-tails', powers, with Kurama gaining over half. Their memories were sealed along with their original body, and their souls were placed in a new immature one, one made completely out of pure Chakra. All of the Bijuu would need to grow into it, and after the task was done, Hagoromo's body failed him and he passed away. However, before his death he told his creations that they would all be together again even if they went their separate ways. It was as if he knew what was to come far into the future.

Afterwards, the Nine showed themselves from time to time, allowing the humans of the world to witness their might and powers. Eventually, they came to be called the Biju just as the Sage was predicted, considered more akin to natural disasters and demons than living creatures. At first, they were together, having a close relationship with one another. However, time passed and fragmented pieces of their former personality eventually resurfaced, causing them to slowly drift apart after a heated philosophical disagreement.

Paranoia and fear of being alone, which he hid behind arrogance and an obsession with being the strongest, filled Kurama and pushed him away from his siblings and into becoming a recluse. He only ever appeared whenever he sensed arrogance and hatred fester somewhere, something within him drawing him to punish those who used their power to subjugate others. He knew the hypocrisy of his actions, causing him to hate himself which only further fueled his hatred, creating a vicious cycle he could not escape from.

Over the centuries, countless inhabitants of the Elemental Nations failed to regard the tailed beasts as sapient individuals, treating them with great disdain and fear due to their actions, especially Kurama's. Because of the immense power each of creatures wielded, the Shinobi sought out the tailed beasts as tools and weapons to be controlled. It was a sentiment they as a whole detested, but could do nothing to change it. The more they lashed out in defense of themselves, the more they were hated and treated as uncaring monsters.

Despite being the most powerful, Kurama was the first to be sealed away inside a human sacrifice known as the Jinchuuriki. It was angry and filled with malice, both at being imprisoned and at being treated as nothing more than a wild animal incapable of rational thought. Though to be fair, his constant threats and attempts to kill his jailer probably didn't help his case. The entire situation felt both very familiar and different to Kurama, with a jailer that forced him to obey their will and considered him as an animal which only furthered his rage.

Mito Uzumaki was the first of its jailers followed by that bitch Kushina Uzumaki after the first reached the end of her unnaturally long lifespan. Its third and latest jailer was one called Naruto Uzumaki. The first time Kurama saw him, he wondered why the blond boy looked so familiar with his shaggy hair and three whisker marks. However, the color of his hair and eyes seemed out of place in its opinion, but it didn't know exactly why. No one truly knew, not even the great Sage, that a Jinchuuriki, who was giving birth, would give her child some of the Bijuu's original traits.

Thus, Naruto looked like a blond-haired blue-eyed incarnation of Kurama's original form. Was that a coincidence or fate?

Watching the orphaned boy being shunned by the entire village since his birth, Kurama decided to try and use Naruto's dependence on its power to gain control over him and break free from its cage at long last. However, through the blond's seemingly endless struggle, Kurama's attitude toward the blond soon began to change just prior to the Fourth Shinobi World War. Rather than treat him as some animal or power source, the blond treated him like an equal and even potential friend despite him being the reason behind all his suffering. It struck a cord in Kurama and as Naruto proved to be different from all the others, Kurama decided that maybe it was time he gave a leap of faith of his own and trusted the blond in turn, giving the boy his power freely.

Just like Hagoromo had stated those centuries before, the Nine were united once more in a single body to defeat powerful enemies that sought to erase everyone from existence, and they finally brought forth the much desired peace.

After a great and costly battle, Naruto Uzumaki emerged victorious. It was against all odds, but with the help of the Nine, he did the impossible, and Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki appeared before them once more.

"Thank you… this is how it should be. I'm glad you all have completed the task I foresaw those centuries ago. I saw the end if you were not here to prevent it. As such, you have my deepest gratitude. I will return you all back to your homes, the place where you belonged originally, like I've promised all those years ago," Hagoromo said and explained that he took them from their home even though they did not remember. He was desperately searching for a way to change the dark future in his vision at the time and so had gone to their worlds in hopes of finding it.

"But hasn't thousands of years had already passed?" asked Shukaku curiously.

"Time is relative and flows differently, Shukaku," explained Hagoromo patiently. "You might have experienced thousands of years here, but I will send you back to the same time you left, maybe a year or two later. You will regain your original form along with the newfound ability as promised. I can also erase your memory of the Elemental Nations if you so desire."

After some debate, the first eight tailed beasts accepted the offer and wanted to return to the life they would know again. Some of them chose to remove the memory of the Elemental Nations along with all the pain they suffered during their unjust imprisonment, not wanting it to cloud their future actions in the new home.

However, Kurama was hesitant to leave the blond as he was now part of his life and it felt wrong to abandon him now after all they've been through.

"Hey Kurama, we made a great team didn't we?" asked Naruto with a bright smile.

Kurama smiled in return and nodded in agreement. Naruto was living proof that true power came from strength of character and the will to make the impossible possible. Throughout their struggles together, it had its moments of doubt, but Naruto had showed none of that. The boy, who was shunned most of his life, would climb over all the challenges and proved to those that did not believe that he would not back down from his belief no matter what the challenge. It had inspired everyone around him and united a once war-torn world together.

The Juubi was powerful, exceeding its own power, but still lost to their teamwork in the end. Madara and Kaguya, a God and Goddess possibly, were no different. They were all defeated, one after another, as Hagoromo had foreseen all those millennia ago.

"Child of prophecy," Kurama muttered as Naruto grinned proudly.

 _'Ah, so that's how it is,'_ thought Hagoromo, looking at Naruto. The boy's appearance was like the humanoid Kurama, and he knew then that the Kyuubi would have a hand in bringing forth the boy's existence and thus saving the future. Hagoromo simply smiled and returned the rest of the eight beasts back to their own world, allowing Naruto and Kurama some time to discuss where they would go from here onward. The Sage felt completely drained afterwards, but kept his composure. He wasn't sure if there was enough powers in him to send the last one back.

"I think I will stay here for a while," Kurama finally requested after some thought.

The Sage nodded, understanding the Kyuubi's reason. Naruto couldn't be happier that it chose to stay behind with him. Kurama was then resealed back into Naruto as it felt much more comfortable in there once it had been combined with his Yin half. Furthermore, as the Sage had also hinted, Kurama still needed to help the blond with the corruptive nature of all the tail-beasts' chakra that were now coursing through his inner pathways. As the two once-separated halves reunited, that would change but for now, Naruto still needed him. This time, however, Kurama wasn't being tied down or locked in a cage.

"Very well, come back here when you are ready to return," said Hagoromo. He drew up the seal before continuing to speak. "This seal will activate upon your blood, Naruto. It will open a portal, but only once. You or your children will be the one to send Kurama back to his home one day. It will also return your original memory and body as well, Kurama."

"Is that another thing you foresaw?" Naruto asked curiously, but Hagoromo shook his head. He felt that he was fading away as he channeled the last of his energy into the time-space seal. It should be good for one being to pass through, and hopefully that was enough.

"I can see nothing now, so I cannot say what is to come in the future, but make it a good one, Naruto and Kurama... my son," Hagoromo said with a wide smile before fading away, at peace at last.

"Are you crying?" asked Naruto amusedly, hearing the whimpering noise in his mindscape.

"SHUT UP, BRAT! I'M NOT CRYING! Just something in my eyes, damn dusts," Kurama growled in denial as Naruto rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Right, let's return home and start rebuilding!" Naruto roared happily, jogging back to the devastated Leaf Village and meeting up with the rest of the allies' forces along the way. The costly war was over and the future would be something they would make for themselves.

* * *

 **Near the Mountains' Graveyard, Elemental Nations (146 years later)**

A much older and weathered Naruto stood before the seal placed by the Sage of Six Paths almost a century and a half ago. His once blonde hair had turned white with age and the once proudly standing shinobi was now slightly hunched over from age. Even with the Uzumaki vitality, he was reaching the end of his lifetime which was the reason he was standing here today.

Naruto reached towards the seal on his stomach and twisted it slightly. In a flash of light, Kurama, the last Biju, appeared beside him in all his glory, looking sadly down at his oldest friend. "Are you sure about this, kit?" asked Kurama quietly... well, quietly for him. For any normal person, he was shouting. "I can always just go hide somewhere remote where they can't find me. That way I can come help keep the peace if it's necessary."

Naruto smiled sadly and shook his head. "I'm sure, Kurama. We can't risk them finding you and sealing you away like they're planning to my soon-to-born great-great-grandchild. They might say it's to 'ensure the peace' but we both know the truth. They're just power-hungry and I won't have my oldest friend used as a weapon again. And we both know that's what you'll eventually be turned into if you're sealed again."

Kurama huffed but conceded the point.

His partner had done much in his long life. His greatest accomplishment was, of course, bringing peace to the Elemental Nations which continued to this day. His reign had been the longest and most celebrated in history, lasting over sixty years before he retired the hat to Satsuki, Sasuke's granddaughter. While not of his blood, she had inherited the Will of Fire even more than Naruto's son, Boruto, had. Satsuki accomplished her mother, Sarada's, dream and became the first Uchiha Hokage. She continued many of the laws and beliefs he had founded during his reign and ensured the peace continued. Even Kurama had to admit that for an Uchiha, she was alright.

Unfortunately, her successor and Naruto's great-grandson, Minato, named after his great-great-grandfather, was of a much different mindset. While he wanted to keep the peace, he believed in taking a much more proactive approach to it, stamping out possible threats to the peace before they could form. He reminded Kurama of what he had heard that old geezer Danzo had been like when he was young and not in a good way.

While he understood reacting quickly to threats, his way would make more enemies than he would destroy due to his methods. If he saw something that could someday be a threat, he didn't try and settle it peacefully but viciously stamped it out by any means necessary. It had made many of the other Kage uncomfortable already and things were becoming tense. The peace that had lasted for over a century looked to be reaching its end.

The brat had become this way due to his father's death at the hands of a successor group of Akatsuki when he was young. The group had been talked about in whispers before but mostly ignored due to their small size and the fact that they had done nothing to warrant hostility. The fact that there was no way they could be anywhere near the threat the original Akatsuki had been, only having at most A-rank shinobi in their ranks, meant even Kurama dismissed them as unimportant.

However, his friend's grandson and Boruto's son, Menma, had thought otherwise and became suspicious of what their goals were. He eventually investigated their activities and found that they had been trying to create their own Biju using traces of Kurama and his siblings' chakra still left at the Mountains' Graveyard. They had also managed to turn themselves into pseudo-jinchuriki using the traces of Biju chakra left much like the Gold and Silver Brothers had been, making them much more dangerous than their perceived rankings said they were.

Menma had died trying to stop them but failed. Luckily, he had managed to send a message back to inform the villages of their plan before he died. The villages had quickly banded together and had managed to stop the group soon afterwards, even destroying all trace of their research personally (much to the chagrin of the people more in-line with Minato current way of thinking) but the damage had been done. Naruto had lost a son and Minato, a father. Boruto had died soon afterwards as well, the loss of his son sapping most of his will to live meaning Minato lost his grandfather soon after as well.

It had been that event that caused his friend to retire from being Hokage, believing he had lost his edge in his old age despite Kurama's protests to the contrary. The fact that his friends were all getting old and dying had only helped with the decision since he wanted to spend the last few years of his friends' and wife's life with them rather than behind a desk.

The following years had been mostly good if a bit boring. Satsuki had been a great Hokage and Naruto got to spend much time with his family and friends. Kurama still smiled at how happy his friend had been helping to raise his grandchildren and later great-grandchildren. Kurama himself had become slightly attached to them and would often leave the seal to play with them.

It was hard to think of him as a force of destruction when he had children using him as an improvised jungle gym as he pretended to sleep.

However, others hadn't forgotten his power and seeing him free had made whispers of what to do with him once Naruto died to start. It had deeply angered Kurama to hear once again them treat him as a weapon rather than as a sentient being and he had become grumpy in the past few years as the talks increased. It had warmed Kurama's heart to see Naruto fight so fiercely to protect his freedom even if both knew it was a losing battle.

As Naruto grew older and approached the end of his life, his word started to have considerably less sway. The fact that he was the last of his generation alive meant that he was mostly considered an old relic to the current generation, most considering his feats as nothing more than hyperbole at most. They only had to wait till Naruto was close to death and too weak to stop them in order to what they wanted and the fact that they were headed by his own great-grandson broke Naruto's heart.

Knowing that soon they would force the issue, Naruto had come to this place to turn the decision moot. He would activate the seal the Sage had created all those years ago, opening the portal and return Kurama to his true home. That way Kurama would be completely out of their reach and to ensure it, Naruto would destroy the seal after Kurama went through. That way, there would be no way for anyone to follow.

Kurama grumbled. "If I go... you won't last much longer, Naruto. My chakra has been what's been keeping you alive all these years. Without me, you'll have maybe a month or two at most."

Naruto just smiled serenely, no fear of his upcoming death on his face. "Good. That means I'll live long enough to see the birth of my great-great-grandchild at least. Plus, I think I've kept Hinata, Boruto and Himawari waiting long enough. They've been waiting for me for years. I think it's time to see them again, don't you think?"

Kurama looked down at his oldest friend as he finally spoke the real reason he was so hesitant to leave. "I don't want to leave you, Naruto. I'll... miss you."

There. The real reason why he was so reluctant to leave spilling from his mouth before he could stop it. He had grown attached to the boy. Seeing all his struggles and successes resonated within Kurama, as if he recognized something within Naruto. Kurama could honestly say that Naruto was his best and closest friend and the idea of leaving him, of not being there when he died at least, hurt Kurama deeply.

Naruto smiled widely at his old friend, tears in his eyes to show how much having to do this hurt him as well. "I know Kurama. I'll miss you too. But it would hurt even more to know you'll be caged once again after I'm gone. At least this way, we can both part ways happily. And who knows," Naruto shrugged with a smile on his face. "Maybe you have a family of your own waiting for you on the other side."

That brought Kurama up short. He had never really thought about what could be waiting for him on the other side. The idea that he might have a family, a _real_ family, waiting for him actually made him want to see if it's true.

On the other hand, the opposite could be true and he could be completely alone on the other side. Worse, he could be a completely different person more similar to who he had been before he made became friends with Naruto. That was what scared him the most. The idea that he would be a different person that would shame his closest friend's memory.

Naruto seemed to know what he was thinking as he laid a hand on his left front paw and patted him slightly. "I'm sure that whoever you were before won't change who you are now, Kurama. I believe in you."

Kurama met his old friend's eyes and sighed in resignation. "Over a hundred years old and still more stubborn than an ox." Kurama nodded to show his acceptance.

Naruto smiled and pricked his finger lightly, letting a few drops of blood to land on the seal. Instantly, the seal began to glow brightly showing it was activating. Naruto took a few steps back and watched as a line of black seals appeared in mid-air before opening a giant hole just big enough for Kurama to fit into what seemed like nothingness.

Both friends looked at each other, realizing this was it. The two shared one final fist-bump, manfully ignoring the tears going down both their cheeks.

"Well... I guess I'll see you around, kit." said Kurama, using all his strength not to fall down bawling. "Try not to get into too much trouble after I'm gone. I won't be there to bail you out."

Naruto just gave a soft smile, also using all his determination (read stubbornness) not to fall into tears at saying goodbye to his oldest friend. It was as hard as the day Hinata died. At least then he knew he would see her in the Pure World someday. Now, he didn't even have that comfort. "Goodbye, Kurama. I'm sure we'll see each other again someday."

Kurama smiled at the hopeful optimism in his friend's voice. "Goodbye... my friend." And with that, Kurama stepped through the portal, leaving the Elemental Nations behind.

After the portal closed, Naruto stood there for a moment before standing over to where the seal once was and scuffing the used seal so it couldn't be studied. He didn't have to do anything more.

His tears would wash away the rest.

* * *

 **Kyoto, Japan**

Deep inside the residential district of Kyoto, there was a small clearing with a pond in the middle. No one, not even youkai could see the clearing which meant it was safe from the residential expansions of the last two decades.

However, because of that, the clearing showed signs of neglect, with grass being overgrown and the pond water being slightly wild and murkier than it used to be. It all showed that no one had been there in a very long time.

Suddenly, the seemingly peaceful silence was broken when a dark portal opened near the water. The portal stood there for moment before a figure fell out of it and it closed, no sign of it ever having been there. The figure groaned slightly and it stood, showing Kurama in his new/old form except now with nine tails swaying behind him.

Kurama rubbed his head as the memories settled into his mind. Luckily, having lived for over three millennia, the extra memories of about 30+ years were just a drop in the bucket in comparison so the headache passed quickly.

He stepped toward the small lake and while it was slightly dirtier than he remembered, he could still see his reflection. The first thing he noticed was how similar he looked to Naruto, which was both a comfort and a dagger in the heart since it meant he would never forget his friend. The second thing he noticed was the chakra pathways in his body. It seemed the seal compensated for the presence of chakra and gave him similar pathways to shinobi so he could use both chakra and youki. It meant he was much stronger than he ever was and Kurama grinned at the thought of all the power now at his fingertips.

Speaking of power...

Kurama remembered his recent (technically speaking) humiliation at the hands of his wife and smiled toothily before starting to cackle.

"Oh yeah! Payback time!"

With another dark cackle, Kurama pushed off toward the direction of his home, intent on giving his new abilities a good workout.

* * *

 **AN: And there's the prologue!**

 **It's shorter than my last version but that's mostly I cut out the Kakashi's son scene. I think this is more streamlined and easier to write than the last one without the whole split personalities thing. I also cut out Naruto as the middleman. The entire reason I even had Naruto was because I wanted to use Naruto's abilities (senjutsu, rasengan, etc). Then I realized that due to all that time sealed inside humans, plus all the millennia watching them develop said jutsu, Kurama probably knows hundreds of jutsu and just can't do them due to not having a chakra system (he's basically just solidified chakra). But with one, he could probably recreate most, making Naruto unnecessary. He will still be mostly a blunt instrument blowing things up with Bijudama and his power but he'll slowly learn subtlety as the story goes.**

 **Anyway, this story won't be abandoned like the original because I actually have a plot in mind with an enemy and everything. Also, I had to drop the original since it became painfully obvious I'd basically ruined Yasaka's character in my desire to paint Kurama in a good light. This story will have her being more balanced and relatable with neither of them being wrong but also neither of them being completely right either. Kurama in this story will be a much more torn character than the original.**

 **There will be no set schedule for updates. Schedules only make me anxious which ruins my desire to write. For now, don't expect the next chapter until after Father's Day since I'm working all day every day till then so I won't have any free time till after. I'll keep the original version up until I publish chapter 5 at which point I'll delete the original.**

 **Also can anyone give me the japanese way of writing "Sage's Son"? Kage no Kitsune means Fox's Shadow and I want the title to mean "Sage's Son, Fox's Shadow" but don't know the right way to translate "Sage's Son". Any help on that front would be appreciated.**

 **Anyway, Read and Review!**


	2. Chapter 1

****Disclaimer:** **All publicly recognizable characters, setting, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. All other concepts and ideas from other books or stories belong to their respective authors. No copyright infringement is intended.****

* * *

 ** **Kyoto, Japan (present day)****

Kurama eagerly walked out of the clearing, after making sure to reinforce the illusion once more, in the direction of the nearest entrance to Inner Kyoto which just so happened to be the official one at Kinkaku-ji Temple. As he did so, his mind wandered over his new/old memories and the differences between the old him and the current one.

For one thing, while he wanted to go back to fight his wife, it wasn't so much anger as it was pride and his admittedly chauvinistic desire to prove he's the alpha in the relationship. While before he would have wanted to beat her more out of anger and to avenge the "humiliation" of losing to someone else (even if that someone else was his wife), now it was more to prove his strength and establish himself as the strongest. A slight difference but important since it meant his fight with Yasaka was more of a spar than a real fight.

That and it had been a LONG time for him. Literally millennia. So once he beat her in the spar, he was throwing her over his shoulder and dragging her to their bedroom where he had no intention of them leaving for anything except for food or the bathroom for the next the two weeks.

Cavemanish? Yes. Did her care? Not one whit. You try and go millennia without sex and see how you'll react. Especially when your wife looked like Yasaka did.

Kurama's once fast sprint toward the Kinkaku-ji Temple slowed to a stop as he left the more rural area and entered the more urbanized districts. He stopped because it only took one look at the urbanized area to realize that much more time had passed since his disappearance than just one or two years.

For one, the buildings were taller and obviously more advanced. Buildings of cement and stone had been replaced with what seemed like glass and metal buildings. While not new in any shape or form, they had definitely not been common in more traditional Kyoto. There was still plenty of greenery and traditional buildings but they seemed to be set more in the outskirts than in central Kyoto proper.

Another sign was the different fashion styles he saw from what he remembered. While not _that_ different (which luckily meant not much more than a decade had passed at most), there was enough of a difference that it was noticeable.

And was that one girl wearing a pink wig?!

He continued to walk and eventually stopped when in front of Kyoto train station... where a bullet train was just arriving.

That more than anything confirmed his fears. While the plans for building the bullet train had already been underway, it had been years away from being completed. Much more than just a single year. For it to not only be completed but seemingly having been in smooth operation for more than a year from the way no one seemed fazed by its presence was very telling.

The entire thing made Kurama very uneasy and he hastened his pace toward the Kinkaku-ji Temple. He needed to know how much time had passed since he left this world. For him it had been millennia but the old man had promised that no more than a year or two would pass in this world.

Did the old man lie? No, the old man never lied to him, even about things Kurama would have preferred to be lied to about. He had always been brutally honest and it had been one of the things he had loved about him, so he wouldn't lie about something like this.

The only thing Kurama could think of was the time he stayed after the end of the Fourth Shinobi War. Maybe staying all those years with Naruto afterwards caused more time to pass in this world especially without the old man there to make sure he arrived on time? But if that was true then just how much time had passed? Was time between the two dimensions equal or did more time pass in one world compared to the other?

Along the way, he thoughts came to a halt when he saw two new hotels.

Specifically, the Kyoto Sirzechs and Kyoto Serafall Hotels, the latter still undergoing construction.

Kurama's power exploded, a snarl of rage coming to his face and every human within a hundred yards passed out from the pressure of his power.

He recognized those names very well. How could he not know the names of two of the new Maou? But why the hell were their names on hotels in the middle of Kyoto?! The heart of youkai territory?!

The only reason he could think of for devil names to be on buildings in Kyoto would be if the devils had invaded and conquered it. Either that or his idiotic and naive wife was actually stupid enough to allow them to build them here. If it was the latter, he would need to have a talk with his wife about this. There was no way he was allowing devils to build businesses here, in the heart of their territory.

Allowing devils to build within their territory was going way too far in his mind. It was no different than angels allowing devils building a business in Heaven. Something he doubted even two millennia of peace between them would ever allow.

Even if they were no longer enemies, there was no way he was going to trust them within their territory. No matter what they said, devils would use that as a foothold to try and force youkai into their so-called "peerages" for their own selfish gains. Until the devils had proven themselves to be different from their ancestors, there was no way he was allowing them the chance to further abuse their ability to enslave others in the name of "regaining their numbers".

First thing he was going to do after he had reestablished himself was throw out any and all devil buildings and businesses within Kyoto. Not only because they had no business within another faction's territory but they were also stealing away business and income that belonged to them. Any businesses owned by devils would be staffed by them and unless youkai became part of a peerage, they would have to work for lower wages than they would normally receive for such a job. This would cause the percentage of poor to increase among the youkai not to mention cause much resentment both towards devils and Yasaka, who allowed it.

Stuff like that was what caused civil wars. Only idiots believed civil wars began over stuff like differing ideals. In the end, all civil wars boiled down to the resentment one side feels toward another for some perceived injustice, whether or not this injustice is true is irrelevant. Only the perception of the one slighted mattered and if they felt they were being abused in some way, the resentment started to fester until eventually they rebelled, causing civil war.

It was stuff like this that convinced Kurama that people born into riches had no business ruling. Ruling had less to do with politics than it had to with economics, the love of the people and pure undiluted ruthlessness. If you lacked any of the three, civil war was the inevitable conclusion.

Kurama tsked in annoyance. Looked like he had a lot of work to do and he hadn't even been back for ten minutes.

As he approached the temple, he took stock of his power level and smiled smugly.

It seemed as if all his chakra as the Kyuubi Biju had mixed perfectly with his youki. In fact, he could sense his chakra feeding his youki, making it even stronger like gasoline to a flame. It made sense since chakra was the origin of all things, including youki. All powers stemmed originally from chakra which was the energy of life so his endless chakra was basically feeding his youki until it reached the maximum a nine-tails could hold which easily put him in the topmost tier of Ultimate-class beings, easily on par with a Satan.

Furthermore, he could sense that he now had a chakra system much like Naruto and the other shinobi did. This meant he could possibly do many of the jutsu and techniques they could and with the millennia of watching their various techniques, he had a large library to choose from.

Kurama smiled toothily, lust for battle and conflict running through his veins. He couldn't wait to test out his newfound power on someone. As a Biju he had been powerful enough to reshape the landscape with just a flick of one of his tails. Now all that power had been condensed into his more compact form, making it that much more powerful. He could already sense that in his current form, he could easily kill an entire group of Ultimate-class Devils with ease.

Kurama eventually reached the Kinkaku-ji Temple, gaining a few odd looks due to his attire but considering the various people dressed in much weirder stuff (he swore he saw this one guy dressed as some kind of fairy girl or something), it was nothing that attracted much attention, especially with his fox features hidden.

He put up an illusion that would not only hide what he was doing but also make anyone who approached his vicinity suddenly remember important meetings elsewhere. Reaching out into seemingly empty air, Kurama pulsed his yoki in a certain pattern, hoping it hadn't changed in his time away, and was rewarded by the appearance of a portal into Inner Kyoto.

Walking through, Kurama entered the inner capital and smiled as he saw the familiar buildings of his home.

When it was first built, this "Youkai" or "Inner" Kyoto looked almost exactly like Japan did during the Heian period, both socially and in looks. Art and literature were held in high esteem during that time and homes were made with artistic inclinations in mind rather the utilitarian mindset of the modern world. It had been a beautiful and picturesque slice of ancient Japan that was preserved even as the outer world continued to advance.

In time, it had slowly kept up with some modern advancements, especially when almost all of youkai kind moved into the inner city after the end if the Feudal Era and the passing of the worldwide agreement for all supernatural beings to fade into myth in the minds of humanity as a whole. Nowadays, it looked closer to the Edo period of Japan with only the poorest districts showing some signs of its original Heian architecture. In the richer districts, it was a beautiful blend of Heian artistic beauty and Edo period strict social order.

From the fact that there was no buildings on fire or dead bodies lying around, there obviously hadn't been a battle recently. He inhaled deeply and nodded when he smelled no lingering smell of blood or smoke that would have lingered even months after a battle which together with the untouched youkai architecture, meant the devils hadn't invaded which was good and bad. Good because it meant his people weren't currently at war and bad because it meant his wife had become even more peace-obsessed in his time away if the fact she allowed devils to build hotels in their territory meant anything. Probably some way to establish good relations or whatever.

Kurama shook off such thoughts as he approached the palace which was coincidentally where he felt the devil signatures coming from. He frowned when he realized that that meant they must be meeting with Yasaka though why there was more than one at a time when that was forbidden was unknown to him.

Oh well, time to make an entrance.

* * *

Standing inside the great hall before the youkai throne in the large mansion that served as the Youkai palace, the Kuoh Academy second years, Rossweisse, Azazel and Serafall conversed with Kunou and her two advisors. After clearing up the misunderstanding that led to Kunou attacking them, they were discussing Yasaka's disappearance.

"Yasaka-hime was going to a meeting with Sakra's messengers from Mount Meru," explained the old tengu with a hint of anxiousness. "She only took a few guards, citing that they were unnecessary. I told her to reconsider but she ignored me and went with only a few of her elite karasu-tengu guards. Unfortunately, she never appeared at the meeting place at the scheduled time." The old tengu sighed as Kunou's eyes filled with slight tears. "We investigated once we were informed of this and found one of her dying guards who only lived long enough to tell us she was kidnapped but not long enough to tell us by who. Due to this lack of information on her attackers, we became suspicious of any supernatural outsiders within our city which led to Kunou-sama attacking you before."

There was a moment of silence before Azazel sighed in frustration. "This kind of thing keep happening every time different factions decide to ally. The last time this happened was with Odin, right? At that time, Loki came to interfere. This time, the enemies are the terrorists." It was obvious from his tone that he was frustrated with their enemies' actions. For someone who wanted peace, he was no doubt furious at the Khaos Brigade's actions.

"Governor-dono, Maou-dono, could you help find a way to save Yasaka-hime?" asked the old tengu with a hint of a plea in his tone. "No matter what, we pledge our full cooperation." He reached into his clothing and pulled out a portrait of a beautiful blond-haired kitsune woman. "This is a portrait of Yasaka-hime to better help you locate her."

Issei felt a blush rise to his face as he took in the picture of Kunou's mother. More specifically, her massive pair of breasts that the shrine maiden outfit only enhanced rather than detracted from. It took everything he had to prevent a nosebleed as he imagined how the beautiful kyuubi could _reward_ him for rescuing her.

As Issei went off into his own fantasy, the others continued to talk.

"We are not certain where exactly she is located," said the old tengu with a frown. "However, what we can be certain of is that the kidnappers are still in Kyoto."

That brought Issei out of his daydream as he questioned with a frown. "Why do you think so?"

Azazel turned to him and explained. "The flow of ki in all the regions of Kyoto is still stable. The nine-tailed fox is an existence responsible for maintaining the balance of ki flowing from the different areas of this land. You can consider Kyoto itself like a large-scale force field. If the Kyuubi left this land or was killed, then Kyoto will undergo dramatic changes to say the least. Since there are no signs of that, it means Yasaka-hime is still fine and the kidnappers must still be in the area."

Issei looked shocked at the revelation but nodded in understanding. At least this meant the kidnappers couldn't have gone far.

However, before the conversation could continue, they were interrupted when something crashed through the roof and landed between them and Kunou.

"HONEY, I'M HOME!"

Instantly, the foreign group and Kunou's guards got ready for a fight, thinking this was a terrorist attack, though the greeting did throw them off.

As the dust cleared, it revealed a male kitsune youkai with red-orange hair and eyes standing there with a smug smirk on his face and an unconcerned air about him even with everyone aiming their weapons at him. The old tengu paused for a moment before signaling for the guards to lower their weapons.

"Kurama-dono? Is that you?" asked the old tengu unsurely. It had been many years since his disappearance but the old tengu recognized that arrogant smirk, plus that unique red-orange hair and eyes anywhere.

Seeing that the old tengu seemed to recognize him, the Gremory group hesitantly lowered their weapons as well, though were still wary at the newcomer.

"Do you recognize him, Serafall?" asked Azazel warily.

"No," said Serafall with a small frown/pout. "But he's a youkai so I doubt he'd harm Kunou. Especially since her advisor seems to recognize and trust him if the way he ordered the guards to lower their weapons is any indication."

Kurama recognized a few of the faces of the ones visiting and idly wondered why both the Leviathan and Azazel were visiting together but filed it away for later. He counted five reincarnated devils and one angel among their group, further confusing him as to why members of all Three Factions were in one place. He would need to look into that soon since if the Three Biblical Factions had allied together then that could only mean trouble for everyone else.

Or it could be the prelude to war. There was no way the ego of all Three Factions could work together in an effective manner and eventually someone would do something to piss the other two off and war would be the end result.

It would be funny to watch if nothing else.

Kurama then turned to the throne and was confused by what he saw. The throne was the symbol of the ruler of Kyoto and specifically, the Kyoto Youkai Faction. Furthermore, it was where the leylines running through Kyoto merged meaning it was where the ruler was most powerful. Kurama remembered many a time where he saw Yasaka sitting on the throne settling this or that dispute.

It had been boring as all hell and he fell asleep most of the time, something which had pissed Yasaka off fiercely.

Yet instead of his beautiful wife sitting on the throne, a golden-haired girl that looked like a miniature Yasaka was sitting on it.

Kurama vanished from his spot, reappearing in front of Kunou while leaning over her, looking at her through narrowed eyes. Kunou stared back at him unflinchingly even if inside she was slightly scared. She hadn't even seen him move!

Her guests were thinking the same thing, inwardly wondering how fast he was since not even Serafall or Azazel had been able to completely follow his movements.

Kurama studied Kunou intensely and even pinched her cheeks slightly, getting Kunou to whine in complaint before he let her go. The fox-lady seemed to be about to step forward angrily when the old tengu stopped her, shaking his head.

Kurama poked her a bit more before he finally spoke. "Yasaka? Why the fuck are you a child?! How long was I gone?! Wait, that doesn't make any sense?! Did I come back in time or something?!"

Everyone in the hall could only sweatdrop at Kurama's "conclusion" and wonder if perhaps he had hit his head to come to such a stupid conclusion.

Meanwhile, Kurama was extremely confused and had a bad feeling growing in his gut. This girl looked very much like Yasaka from when they were children which was why at first, he had thought she was her. However, not only did her getting younger not make any sense but there were slight differences from the young Yasaka he remembered. So while she was not Yasaka, she was obviously related to her in some way.

"I'm not my m-" started Kunou with a frown before she was interrupted.

"Who are you?" asked Kurama rudely, no longer having the patience to deal with whoever this was. If she was here then where was his wife and why did she leave this little girl in her place.

"I am Kunou, the daughter of Yasaka, the ruler of the Youkai living in inner and outer Kyoto. Now, I demand you to state who you are and the reason why you broke in here?" Kunou requested haughtily.

Kurama froze as the girl's words filtered into his brain while beside her, the old tengu paled as he realized how the male kitsune would interpret it. After all, he hadn't known Yasaka was pregnant when he disappeared.

"Kurama-d-" said the old tengu, trying to head off the inevitable explosion.

However, it was too late. "WHAT?!" yelled Kurama in rage, his power exploding off him and sending the fox-lady and tengu flying and would have done the same to Kunou if she hadn't already been sitting.

The Gremory group stiffened as they felt Kurama's hit them. Everyone other than Serafall, Rossweisse and Azazel immediately began to struggle not to fall face first onto the floor and even those three were sweating slightly, Rossweisse more than the two leaders. Their alarm grew stronger when his demonic power kept rising, entering the realm of the strongest of Ultimate-class and Satan-class devils. And even then it showed no signs of stopping, growing exponentially.

The younger devils and sole angel were in shock as they felt the male youkai's power. Up until then, they had never felt such raw power before and the only one they could compare it to was Loki. The idea of fighting someone of Loki's strength by themselves caused them to pale in fear.

"THAT UNFAITHFUL BITCH?!" yelled Kurama in sheer rage and a healthy dose of hurt. He turned to the old tengu with an angry look on his face. "WHERE IS YASAKA?! WHERE IS MY WIFE?!"

That caused everyone but the old tengu and Kurama to pause in shock. Yasaka was his wife? Then didn't that mean-

"Tou-san?" asked Kunou quietly.

Kunou had never met her father and whenever she asked her mother, she simply said he had went somewhere and would return someday. Yet despite her words, Kunou could see how sad her mother was whenever she asked so she had simply thought he'd died or left them.

Kurama turned at her cry and was about to lash out at her when he froze. From Kunou's perspective, she saw a look of fear and disgust cross his face before it became blank once more and he lowered the hand that was about to lash out at her.

"I'm not your father," Kurama gritted out softly yet firmly, his hands turning into fists. "So don't call me that." He turned once more to the old tengu with a glare. "Where is my wife, tengu?"

Kunou's eyes started to tear from the hurtful rejection from her father. She didn't understand what he meant and so thought he was rejecting her as his child, causing her heart to break at the thought of her own father not loving her.

The old tengu looked at Kunou, whose eyes had started to tear slightly, before turning back to the still angry Kurama. "Yasaka-hime has been kidnapped, Kurama-dono. She had been on her way to meet with a messenger from Mount Meru when she was attacked. From our own investigation as well as our allies' information, we believe the newly revealed Khaos Brigade is behind it. If true, she could be in great danger. Your help will be greatly appreciated in rescuing her, Kurama-dono."

Kurama fell quiet at that, processing the information. It looked as if Yasaka needed him to save her beautiful hide just like during the Civil War. Well, he'd do just that and have a little _talk_ with his wife about her unfaithfulness.

Kurama turned to Kunou and rather than say anything, he just grabbed her by the back of her kimono, picked her up gently and placed her beside the throne, holding back the desire to throw her aside roughly. While he was sure she wasn't his child, he wouldn't lash out at her when it was no fault of hers. She had no control over who her parents were and didn't deserve his anger.

He would _not_ become his father.

Once that was done, he sat himself on the throne, feeling quite proud of himself for some reason. Despite his hate of politics, he'd always wanted to sit on the throne to lord the fact that a half-breed was the new Emperor over those idiotic blood purists.

Speaking of idiots who put way too much respect in blood, Kurama's eyes fell on the Three Factions ambassadors with distrusting eyes.

"So," said Kurama blandly. "You all just _happen_ to be in the area when my wife was kidnapped? Very coincidental."

Serafall and Azazel had neutral looks on their faces at his thinly-veiled accusation, already having expected it since that very same thinking was what had Issei attacked earlier by Kunou and her guards. The others, however, were not as diplomatic and were about to protest before the old tengu spoke.

"Kurama-dono," said the old tengu anxiously. "Our new allies have already explained to us that they were not behind Yasaka's kidnapping."

Kurama snorted. "Not directly, maybe. But everyone knows that the new Satans and Azazel are such terrible rulers that their people does whatever they want under their noses and they're never aware of it until afterwards. And when they are, they claim it wasn't their fault. Like if their lack of ability to properly control their people doesn't make them just as guilty. For all we know, devils and fallen angels could be involved and they wouldn't even be aware."

Both Serafall and Azazel twitched at the insult but the recent actions of both Diodora Astaroth and Kokabiel stopped from saying anything. The former especially had almost destroyed the treaty between Heaven and the Underworld when word of Diodora's actions reached the former. It had taken much talking and some concessions on their part to appease Michael. While the Archangel was usually calm and peaceful, he had been utterly furious that not only had Diodora been targeting holy maidens, but that he took pleasure in breaking them both mentally and spiritually.

Needless to say, the Astaroth clan had suffered greatly as repercussion from Diodora's actions.

And the less said about Azazel's hands-off approach to ruling the Grigori, the better.

Kurama hid a smile as his ability to sense negative emotions told him he'd hit the nail in the head. It seemed all was not well in their respective factions if their fear of someone from their factions being involved was any indication.

Kurama, of course, knew about the Khaos Brigade. They'd been around in the shadows for over a century at least from what he'd discovered. Kurama never quite figured out whether they had a hand in the Youkai Civil War. There were signs that they had approached Yasaka's father but whether he had accepted their help or not was unknown.

It had become moot when Yasaka's father died anyway so he had let it go.

However, that wasn't important right now. What was important was establishing whether or not any of the Biblical Factions was involved in Yasaka's kidnapping. He didn't doubt the Khaos Brigade was the one who did the actual kidnapping, but that didn't mean they hadn't been backed by someone from one of their factions. There had always been tension between the Shinto pantheon and the Biblical factions, especially since the latter had the audacity to spread their religion onto their shores. If it hadn't been for the treaty that forbid the pantheons from going to war with each other or getting involved in each others affairs, he had no doubt that Amaterasu would have scorched Japan clean of their presence. She had never liked them much.

For that reason, it wasn't impossible that someone from their factions had secretly backed the Khaos Brigade into their current actions of kidnapping Yasaka. For all their disagreements and his current anger at her perceived infidelity, Kurama had to admit that she was a great leader and had done much to help their faction since her rise to power. Getting rid of her would cripple them greatly.

Furthermore, the fact that they hadn't killed her meant they knew about her importance to maintaining Kyoto's leylines. So whoever kidnapped her wanted her out of the way but not dead since Kunou wasn't yet old enough to maintain the flow of _ki_ from the leylines.

But she _was_ young enough to be manipulated. Anyone who was angry at Yasaka's actions as leader but knew about her importance to maintaining the leylines could have ample reason to have her kidnapped. It would take her out of the picture while not endangering Kyoto's balance with the bonus of leaving Kunou open to manipulation.

The fact that she allowed more than one messenger from a different faction to enter the inner capital showed how easily the young girl could be convinced to do another's bidding. There was a _reason_ no more than one messenger was allowed at a time. It was a security measure meant to protect both the current leader and the youkai who hide within the inner capital from any attempt at invasion.

Most of the youkai who lived in the inner capital weren't very strong and so depended on both the current emperor/empress and the inner capital barriers for protection. By allowing so many powerful non-youkai into the inner capital, Kunou had risked the lives of those she was supposed to protect if by chance they had turned hostile.

One, the guards might have been able to push out of the inner capital.

But all of them? If they turned hostile, especially with Yasaka missing and none of the generals in residence, there would be no one around to stop them.

But back to the matter at hand, Kurama focused back on the group to see the short blond-haired and brown-haired reincarnated devils seemed angry at his words. Good. People always revealed more in anger. He knew from experience.

"You can't speak that way to Serafall-sama!" said the blond-haired one angrily as he stood up.

Kurama glared at the devil and unleashed a short blast of killing intent, causing the young man to fall back to his knees, white as a sheet.

Ignoring him once more, Kurama turned back to the factions leaders. "So?" asked Kurama while leaning back on the throne and looking at them in contempt. "Am I wrong? Can you tell me absolute certainty that no one from either of your factions may have had a hand in this, using the Khaos Brigade as a tool to get what they wanted?"

Azazel cleared his throat and spoke. "No, we cannot. We're ashamed to say that members of both our factions are counted among the Khaos Brigade so it is completely possible that either devils or fallen angels are involved. However, we are willing to help rescue your wife and if anyone from either of our factions is involved, we're willing to make up for it."

Kurama cocked an eyebrow at his words, internally surprised they'd be willing to admit to possibly being in the wrong and even willing to make up for it. However, he still didn't trust them. Especially not with his wife's life. He would rescue her himself and then investigate whether there was any link between her kidnapping and the Biblical factions.

It couldn't be a coincidence that they were in Kyoto just a few days after her kidnapping. A trip to Kyoto, especially asking for permission from Yasaka to be able to enter the city, would have taken a few weeks at least.

Therefore, either they were involved with her kidnapping somehow or the kidnappers purposefully chose to kidnap Yasaka knowing they were arriving in the city soon.

Either way, this had to be handled internally. Both to keep them out of the way if they're involved and to to able to investigate any connection between them and the kidnapping. If they got involved, it would muddy the waters and if Kurama investigated them afterwards, it would could result into a political falling out.

He couldn't risk that. While he had no problems with putting the Three Factions in their place, he had no idea as to the current state of the Kyoto Youkai Faction. Yasaka had been pushing to disband their army and if the stupid woman had actually managed it, that meant they were basically defenseless. He had to assess the state of the Faction before making any moves.

"Perhaps," stated Kurama neutrally. "However, due to the ambiguity regarding your possible connection to my wife's kidnapping, I'm going to have deny your offer of assistance. We will handle this internally. Afterwards, you may speak with my wife about any peace treaty between our factions. Of course," Kurama's glowed red with rage. "Only after _I've_ had a few words with her first."

At that, Issei had to speak. "Hey, wait a minute! We here to help Kunou-chan and rescue onee-sama," He didn't want to leave just like that. He wanted to see massive breasted Miko in person. That wasn't the only reason though, he also wanted to help the cute kitsune girl, but it was the one that stood out the most.

"Hah, please, the Oppai dragon only wanted a reward," Azazel snickered a little as a joke. Xenovia, Asia and Irina were nodding their heads and gave their jabs as well.

"Reward…" muttered Kurama in thought before it clicked.

Unfortunately for them, none of them knew that despite his current anger at his wife, Kurama hated comments like that about his wife. Whenever some upstart noble punk flirted with his wife in social gatherings, he always punched them out regardless of who they were.

Which might have been part of the reason his wife banned him from formal gatherings now that he thought about it.

But that combined with the belief that his wife had been unfaithful to him and her whispered derogatory nickname among the more anti-devil youkai of "Devil's Whore", made Kurama's mind instantly go to the worst, and correct, possible conclusion of what this little devil wanted as a reward.

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" roared Kurama after understanding what the fallen angel had meant and disappeared from his seat in a flash of red.

Serafall and Azazel barely tracked the red-head's movement and intercepted as fast as they could which barely saved the pervert from a most gruesome death.

A boom exploded from the collisions as the three combatants flipped back to disengage. Both Serafall and Azazel felt their arms pulsated in pain from the strength of the hit. Worse yet, they could tell he had been holding back.

Kurama clenched his fist from the opposite side, checking the hand and realized these two had enough strength to block his attack even if he _had_ been holding back some. Well, he had been looking for a way to test out his new powers. What better test dummies than the these two?

"YOU GUYS GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!" Azazel ordered as he realized his mistake. In hindsight, making perverted comments about a man's wife in front of the man himself was probably not the best idea.

"I wonder how I match up against the great Azazel and Leviathan with my new poers," Kurama said with a smile as his body was coated with flickering with reddish aura. Youki and Chakra propagated through his limbs as his eyes became sharper, now capable of following speeds faster than even the speed of light easily. He also tapped into this world's natural energy, using it to enhance his already considerable speed and strength.

"Please wait, Kurama-dono," the Tengu beseeched desperately but it was too late. Kurama disappeared in a red flash and smashed his fist full strength, capable of shattering multiple buildings to rubble with ease, right into Azazel's solar plexus before the man realized what had just happened.

Azazel might have been able to block the strike if he wasn't so stunned at the speed that Kurama was displaying. Even with his eyes right on Kurama the entire time, he had barely made out his movements. As it was, Azazel felt several of his ribs crack under the blow causing him to gasp in pain.

Serafall's eyes widened. She couldn't track the man at all. It was less like high-speed movement and more like teleporting from one point to another instantly. What kind of ability was that? Also, what this strange aura around him? It seemed to become thicker each passing second.

"Senjutsu!?" cried out Serafall in alarm.

* * *

 **AN: Anyway, here's chapter 1!**

 **Just a quick mention. The beginning part was put to explain Kurama's comment at the end of the prologue. He didn't want to beat Yasaka as in physically abuse her. But rather he wanted to beat her in a spar due to remembering how she always beat him. It's more like the way Naruto always wanted to beat Sasuke in a spar before the latter joined Orochimaru but less about rivalry and more like Kurama wanting to prove he's the alpha male. After all, better person or not, he's still a creature of pride... and wrath as you can see by the ending of this chapter.**

 **Also, I need a beta. My last one couldn't be my beta anymore due to scheduling problems (which was part of the reason for such late updates in my last version) and I'm sure there are plenty of errors in this chapter despite having read it over like ten times. So if anyone can be my beta, my sole request is that English be your first language and that you have intimate knowledge of Dxd up to Volume 20.**

 **This version is closer in timeline to the original Youkai no Bikou and I chose this because it was easier for me in regards to timeline. Also, I won't have to wait for the first few volumes to happen before we get to the good part of Kyoto. It's not like Kurama has any _real_ reason to get involved in the pre-volume 9 events anyway. The new Kurama might be more tolerable of devils and fallen angels but he still distrusts and despises them.**

 **As you can see, I've gotten rid of the flashbacks. There were a lot of complaints about them and I decided it was easier just to reveal Kurama's past through dialogue later in the story. Most of the story involves his past anyway so... yeah.**

 **As for the title, it stays as it is. The translation for it is "Fox's Shadow, Sage's Son". Sage's son is an obvious reference to the Sage of Six Paths while Fox's Shadow is in reference to the shadow of Kurama's past which is the main theme of the story.**

 **Any questions you want answered, please send a PM since you'll have a higher chance of me responding through there than in a review.**

 **Next chapter will hopefully be up sooner since my schedule is looser after Father's Day but no promises as to the exact day.**

 **As always, Read and Review!**


	3. Chapter 2

****Disclaimer:** **All publicly recognizable characters, setting, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. All other concepts and ideas from other books or stories belong to their respective authors. No copyright infringement is intended.****

* * *

 ** **Inner Kyoto, Japan****

Senjutsu. Natural Energy.

Kurama was intimately knowledgeable of its capabilities from his time with Naruto. In their later years, they had mastered the usage of gathering natural energy, mixing it with Kurama's demonic chakra and Naruto's own chakra, all while in the midst of combat. Back then, Kurama would handle the flow and mixing of the differing chakras to make sure it was never too much or too little, so it was easy for him to do it now in his new/old form.

Every planet with life on it has natural energy. The more natural energy, the more life grows on the planet. The more life, the more natural energy is created. It becomes a loop that culminates in stuff like the God Tree. Kurama suspected that if Kaguya had never eaten the Chakra Fruit then it may have germinated into the various god-like beings present in Kurama's home dimension though that was just speculation on his part.

The point was that Kurama had a lot of experience wielding senjutsu and in fact found its calming effect counteracted his own inherently malicious demonic chakra quite well. So as he gathered the natural energy of this world, he expected it to be no different than the hundreds of times he'd done it before.

However, he had overlooked one crucial fact.

This was not the Elemental Nations. Despite beings like the biju being called demons, no true demons had ever come into existence. The only possibly true demon had been Moryo and he had been from another world and not actually born there. Therefore, it could be said that the Elemental Nations did not have true demonic beings of its own.

This was in stark contrast to the Dxd universe, where demonic beings had come into existence fairly early on in its creation not counting beings like Lucifer falling from grace and creating devils. All this corrupted the natural energy of the planet with the demonic energy of the demons. The Great War only made it worse, the demonic and divine powers clashing causing an incredible imbalance in the natural energy of the planet that was still felt to this.

To make things even worse, the Elemental Nations did not have a primordial goddess that merged with the planet itself, becoming the very embodiment of the Earth. It was for this reason that the natural energy of the Elemental Nations had no true will of its own, being little more than free energy than anyone with the correct training can use. Sure, there were side effects if you used it incorrectly but that was simply from using without the proper training like any other advanced ability not an inherent danger of the natural energy itself.

The Dxd universe did that have all that, however. This gave natural energy not only a will in the form of Gaia, but also the capability to feel negative emotions such as fear, anger and more importantly...

….. hatred.

Kurama was caught off guard when a wave of sheer _hatred_ hit him as he absorbed the world's natural energy. Having opened his empathetic abilities expecting to be hit by the calming effect of senjutsu, he was completely unprepared for sheer wave of negative emotions that came with this world's natural energy.

If Kurama hadn't opened his empathetic abilities to maximum in preparation to using senjutsu, then he would have no doubt easily have fought off the influence of the world's hatred. He had been using his ability to sense negative emotions for millennia and while he had been greatly affected by the negative emotions when he was young, he had completely mastered centuries ago.

However, having not expected the world's hatred and with his ability to sense negative emotions working against him combined with his already enraged mindset, he could do nothing but give into both the world's hatred and his own.

Kurama's sight and eyes turned blood red as he gave into his rage and bloodlust as he viciously attacked both Azazel and Serafall. The former had been knocked away from a vicious backhand following the initial punch and now Serafall was alone in trying to hold off the enraged Biju. Something anyone from the Elemental Nations could have told you was no easy task.

To make things worse, his own demonic chakra had reacted to his rage and activated, causing a cloak of crimson chakra to cover him, enhancing his already monstrous strength and speed.

Serafall dodged Kurama's fist, only for the demonic chakra shroud to seemingly move on its own and lash out at her. She barely put up her arms in time to block and held in a cry of pain as not only did the blow hit hard enough to slightly fracture one of her arm bones but the demonic chakra burned her where it touched.

Serafall jumped back to escape any further attack while absently using her ice magic to cool down the burns from the demonic energy. Part of her wondered why it seemed so corrosive to her. She could sense that whatever it was, the energy was demonic in nature if not origin. So why didn't her being a devil give some kind of resistance to it?

Little did she know that this wasn't normal demonic energy which would have given her a slight resistance to its corrosive effects. This was demonic chakra that was originally a piece of the First Primordial of the Elemental Nations. It was fundamentally different from any current form of demonic energy and there was currently no being other than Kurama who could even wield it without suffering from its negative side effects. It was lucky her own demonic power was so strong and that the shroud wasn't more concentrated due to Kurama's internal struggle. If it wasn't for that, the demonic chakra would have already invaded her internal pathways and burned them from the inside out.

The enraged Kurama roared and chased after her, his demonic energy and rage spiking at the fact that his target was still alive.

Meanwhile, Azazel was finishing receiving healing from Asia from the previous attack which had broken quite a few of his ribs. "Okay, thank you Asia but you guys need to get away from here. This fight is beyond you guys."

Before they could protest, Azazel jumped into the fight to aid Serafall who was doing worse and worse against Kurama. At first, she could hold her own but as the senjutsu's hatred started to dominate his mind, he became more and more animalistic, making his fighting style more and more unpredictable. It didn't help that his power, already at high-level Ultimate-class was climbing higher and higher as time passed with no signs of stopping.

Serafall dodged his fist once more only for his chakra cloak to lash out and smack her into the ground, creating a crater where she landed and causing the area to shake. Serafall grunted at the powerful blow but still, she could handle it. If this kept up, even with Azazel's help they would eventually lose. As it was, she couldn't go on the offense and with his power being seemingly endless, that path would obnly lead to one conclusion.

While she could easily handle his strength, at least at his current level, it was his speed that forced her to be on the defensive. Even from her place in the crater she could see Azazel attempt to attack him from behind only for Kurama to disappear in a red flash and instantly appear behind Azazel, lashing out with a clawing attack like an animal that Azazel barely dodged.

It was less like speed and more like he was simply teleporting from place to place, leaving them no chance to locate his new position before he lashed out. As it was, it was only the fact that he seemed to have lost his cognitive thinking due to senjutsu's hatred that allowed to stay alive. While it made his fighting style more unpredictable in some ways, it also made his patterns of attack much more predictable in others.

Taking a deep breath, Serafall jumped back into the fray.

Back among the audience, the bystanders could only watch in shock at the level of the fight before them.

"Is this a fight between Ultimate-class... beings?" asked Issei in shock. Sure, he may have fought beings around their level before, Loki and Kokabiel being prime examples, but those fights had always ended with them using some outside force to close the gap between their respective power levels. Either through Issei's Boost and Transfer technique, Vali's interference or Thor's hammer. They had never actually watched a fight between two beings of that level before.

It was as awe-inspiring as it was terrifying. They were destroying the area around them as they fought and even their clashes produced visible shockwaves in the air. They hadn't even used any magic or special attack. It was nothing but pure speed and strength and the thought of the cute little Maou being that strong and fast really drove home that she was a Maou more than anything before. As it was, it was only Rsosweisse putting a barrier around them that stopped them from being affected both by the tremendous power they were putting off as well as the shockwaves caused by their clashes.

Beside him, Irina was also in awe of the strength shown as well with a healthy dose of fear. On one hand she was proud that an angel could become that strong and it gave her an insight into how strong Michael must be since he was considered much stronger than Azazel. It also gave her hope to someday be that strong herself so she wouldn't be left behind by Issei and his friends who seemed to grow by leaps and bounds.

On the other hand, it gave her a chilling look as to how the Great War must have looked like in its prime. A time when beings of this power clashed almost every day, destroying everything around them in their clashes without any regard to who suffered. Even now she could see normal youkai running in terror from the fight as well as several of them being injured from the collateral damage caused by the fight. Despite this, the fight showed no sign of slowing down and even seemed to raising to higher levels as their punches and movements created larger and larger shockwaves.

Near the Gremory group, the old tengu stood with Kunou being held protectively by the kitsune lady, the former desperately trying to stop this fight. "Governor-dono! Maou-dono! Kurama-dono! Please stop fighting!" He needed to stop this before it became lethal, possibly ruining any chance of peace between their respective factions. Yasaka-sama might want peace between their factions but if she found out that her husband, who had been missing for years, was hurt or killed by the Governor-General and the Leviathan Maou, any chance for it would quickly disappear.

While Azazel and Serafall were more than willing to do so, since they _were_ guests after all, they couldn't take their attention off Kurama for a second. If they did, they could actually die. As it was, it took all their concentration to avoid his increasingly random, but no less deadly attacks every time he seemed to teleport from place to place.

"This is very bad..." mumbled Azazel as he avoided yet another strike from the increasingly angry red-head. Serafall tried to take advantage to launch a punch of her own only for Kurama to block it easily with one hand, grip her fist and then brutally kneeing her. He would have done worse if Azazel hadn't interfered, trying to punch him from behind which only caused Kurama to disappear in another red flash.

Serafall quickly recovered and winced slightly in pain from the brutal knee. "Levi-tan thinks he's only getting stronger, Azazel-kun." That last attack had cracked a few ribs and she used ice over her abdomen to try and prevent it from getting worse.

"I think it might be Touki," said Azazel lowly as they took advantage of the slight lull in the fight. "If it is, we have to finish this before he gets too strong."

Touki increased a user's attack, speed and strength tremendously and continued to do so so long as the user had the life-force and willpower. And as the fight continued, neither seemed to drop any noticeable amount. If anything, they seemed to only increase which unfortunately, caused his rage, battle spirit and bloodlust to increase as well. It was painfully obvious he had given into the world's hatred from using Senjutsu and if this continued, he would kill not only them but everyone around him until he ran out of power. And considering they could sense no end of his power in sight, that might take VERY long time.

They needed to stop holding back and switch battle tactics.

Serafall released her devil wings causing her power and the air around her to start to freeze. Near her, Azazel also released his twelve black wings, causing his angelic power to peak. The release of both their powers caused the area to shake slightly and instantly drew the now near-animalistic Kurama's attention.

As they expected, he disappeared in a red flash and appeared above Azazel with an axe-kick. Instantly, Serafall reacted, freezing the limb and attempting to freeze him entirely so Azazel could stab him non-lethally with a light spear. The idea was that the pain from the wound would break him from senjutsu's trance and they could talk him down.

However, Kurama instantly disappeared in another red flash before the ice spread farther than his leg, appearing hovering nearby. He growled and the ice on his leg seemed to melt as his demonic chakra and yoki seemed to melt it off.

That posed a problem. If his power could melt Serafal's ice, she would need to flash-freeze him all at once in order to hold him still long enough. She hesitated since it could hurt him badly if she froze too much but from what she had seen, he would survive.

The three clashed a few more times, but it seemed that even in his current state, Kurama seemed to sense Serafall as the bigger threat and focused on her, not giving her time to freeze him. Azazel's interference kept her from being taken out of the fight but as time passed, the fight only further favored Kurama.

Eventually, Kurama was broken out of his trance by an outside element.

Serafall and Azazel had been trying to box Kurama in for a while now, hoping to stop him from teleporting when a crimson beam lashed out, hitting Kurama from behind and throwing him into some nearby buildings. Both faction leaders turned to see a Scale Mailed Issei with a hand outstretched where he had thrown a Dragon Shot.

It hadn't been hard to see what the two had been planning and seeing that Kurama seemed to have completely forgotten about them in his anger, Issei took advantage to hit him when his back was turned, hoping to take him out of the fight with one hit.

"I thought I told you guys to get out of here but I guess I should be glad you didn't listen. Good job, pervert," said Azazel with a small smile while regaining his breath. That fight took more out him than he thought. He was seriously out of shape if he had to catch his breath from such a, relatively, short fight. Maybe he should get back into shape, especially with the Khaos Brigade running around. Near him, Serafall was also breathing slightly deeper and was thinking much the same.

Everyone turned when they heard the rubble where Kurama landed moving and the man in question rising out of the rubble without a single scratch on him. Only a few scuff marks on his clothes showed where the Dragon Shot landed. However, his eyes were no longer glowing red from his demonic chakra and senjutsu-induced rage, showing they had succeeded in breaking him out of it.

Azazel quickly tried to take advantage to plead his case. "Please, Kurama-dono, I meant no offense. We were only joking around!"

Meanwhile, Kurama shook his head as the last of the senjutsu-induced anger left him. He had been completely caught off-guard by the hatred in the world's natural energy and it had turned him into a berserker. He was painfully reminded that this wasn't his world and there were stark differences between the two. He would have to refrain from senjutsu until he discovered the differences.

Thinking Kurama's silence meant a refusal to accept Azazel's apology, Serafall tried her hand. "Kuro-tan, we shouldn't be fighting! We should help each other and work together to find Yasaka-chan!"

That got Kurama's attention but not the positive kind. "Help? Excuse me?" He scoffed derisively. "no thank you. We don't need _your kind's_ help. We would be better asking Izanami for help than your faction's. At least that way when we're fucked from behind, we'll be expecting it."

He had almost forgotten the sheer arrogance of the Three Biblical Factions, thinking the world revolved around them. Even with their pathetic, third-rate god dead, they still think themselves the most important Factions in the world and that they had the right to stick their noses in everything.

Serafall frowned at his response and tried to placate him. "That's not what I meant. We really do just want to he-"

"ENOUGH!" yelled Kurama angrily before glaring at the two faction leaders. "Angel, Fallen and Devils. Do you have any idea how much I hate your fucking races? You start a childish, worthless war which causes thousands of my kind to die despite having nothing to do with it all because of one brat's temper tantrum. You almost destroyed THE WORLD in your fucking war. Yet instead of dying off along with your god, you invent a slave system to enslave other races to do your bidding, treating them like third-class citizens. And when they dare to rebel against their treatment, they're executed for daring to fight against their "masters"."

"Oh I know what you're going to say," cut off Kurama when Serafall moved to speak. "'It's to replace our losses in the war'. That's bullshit. If you needed to do that, all you needed to do was approach one of the MANY fertility goddesses in the world and ask for their blessing. It would have increased your fertility rate and you could have EASILY regained your population the normal way by now."

"But no," said Kurama with a sneer. "That's not the devil way. Why create when you can take? Why do things the right and slow way when you can have what you want quickly even if it means enslaving others? That's the devil way. Take, destroy, corrupt. What's the excuse your kind always gives? Oh right, "I am a devil'." Kurama scoffed and glared at the wincing Serafall, who remembered many times her fellow devils had given that very excuse for their less than honorable actions. "If that's the case, then you all are abominations who should have never have been born in the first place."

Serafall frowned at his words and exchanged glances with Azazel, who was also frowning. It seemed that Yasaka's husband had a deep, abiding hatred of their factions and any chance of a treaty between them was impossible with him on the throne. Perhaps when Yasaka returned, they could try again but as it was, any further attempts at extending an olive branch would only get the branch ripped out of their hands and used to beat them over the head with.

Before they could speak, another did so first.

"That's not true!" yelled Issei, which caused Kurama's glare to turned to him. The force of the glare caused Issei to pause and gulp but he continued on. "Buchou isn't like that at all. She may be prideful at times but she's the most kind and caring person I know. Despite me being weak, she still accepted me and supports me. She's nothing like what you said!"

Kurama only scoffed at the idiot's naivety. "Please. The only reason she bothered to resurrect you in the first place was because of your Sacred Gear. If it wasn't for that, she wouldn't have bothered. While she may have come to care for you now, it doesn't change the fact that the basis of your relationship was on your Sacred Gear. If you never had that then you would still be nothing more than a normal human who wasn't worth her time."

"And even if she _does_ treat you right," continued Kurama with anger in his voice. "Can you honestly tell me that _every single devil_ you've ever met treats their peerage right?"

Issei was about to argue when he remembered Diodora Astaroth and the revelation of not only what he did to Asia but what he had been doing to over a dozen nuns in his life. The memory of the broken looks on the faces of his peerage members still haunted him. They had been taken for therapy to see if they could help them but so far, no progress had been made.

Kurama smirked as he saw the complicated expressions crossing Issei's face. "You see? That kind of treatment isn't the exception but rather the norm. And it's all because the Maou," here he turned to Serafall with a sneer, "are too weak and pathetic to do anything to stop that kind of treatment. You all were _lucky_ to have a master who treated you correctly. You could have just as easily have been turned into devils by someone much, much worse."

Issei flinched as he remembered Diodora's plan for Asia and how if he hadn't been there, she would have been just as broken as the rest of Diodora's peerage. The thought of cute, little Asia being turned into the hollow shell the others were shook something deep inside him.

Kurama's smirk widened when he saw the effect his words had on the young devil. There was a story there and while he might deny it all he wants, deep inside he could see Kurama's words had some standing and it left him deeply confused and uncertain.

Azazel looked at Issei with a frown and made a note to have a talk with him later before tuning back to Kurama. "Regardless of your feelings, I must insist that we help. The Khaos Brigade is more dangerous than you know and you can't take them on by yourself."

Kurama's eyes narrowed at his words even as his power spiked in response to his anger. "The arrogance of your factions rears its head once more. I guess I'm going to have to show you your place."

Kurama's power rose dramatically, far surpassing Ultimate-class territory and approaching God-class. Serafall and Azazel rose their own power in response and while much weaker than Kurama's, they prepared themselves for the coming fight. The sudden power increase alson broke Issei out of his thoughts and the Gremory group prepared themselves to fight alongside their teachers.

Seeing this, Azazel yelled at them. "Get out of here, kids, this is way out of your league!"

"No way, Azazel-sensei!" yelled Issei as his Scale Mail glinted in the sun. "We can beat him if we work together!"

"Kids these days, no respect for your elders," grumbled Azazel as he refocused back on Kurama.

Kurama's power had slowly concentrated back into him, forming a thin layer of crimson energy over his skin. The fact he managed to control and condense such a large amount of energy without lowering its output caused Serafall and Azazel to gulp as they realized they might be seriously out of their league right now.

Suddenly, both Azazel and Serafall gasped in agony as Kurama appeared between them, punching them so hard that they felt their rib cages shatter. Surprised, they noticed the image of Kurama they had been looking at fade away, revealing itself to be an after-image.

"Yeah," said the real Kurama still holding them up with his fist. "I'm that fast."

Any response or reaction they could have had was cut off when two black orbs appeared inside Kurama's now open hands and blasted them into the air. Once they reached high enough, the orbs exploded with tremendous force, knocking them instantly unconscious causing them to crash into the ground not far away.

Kurama grunted as he sensed they were still alive. He had purposefully made the Bijudama weak enough so while it would knock them out, it wouldn't kill them. While he didn't care about them at all, he had to focus on finding his wife and he couldn't do that if he also had to worry about the response for their murder by their factions.

Meanwhile, the Gremory group was in shock at seeing their teachers get taken out with what amounted to one hit each. To see too people who were touted for their strength get taken out like they were nothing seriously undermined their confidence. Despite that, Issei gathered what confidence he had left and charged at Kurama with Xenovia, Irina and Kiba following behind him and Rossweisse starting to gather her energy for her magic.

Kurama scoffed at their charge and spoke just loud enough for them to hear. "Naive. You are only as strong as your weakest link."

With that, he disappeared in a red flash, appearing before a startled Asia with his hand in a knife shape heading toward her heart.

 _'Rule 1: Always take out the healer first,'_ thought Kurama viciously. Just before he could go through with it, a super-imposed image of a younger Naruto took Asia's place, causing him to hesitate.

Quickly, Kurama changed his plan to rip through Asia's heart with his hand into a fist that, while still brutal, was now non-lethal. Asia instantly fell unconscious from the brutal punch, taking her out of the fight.

 _'Stupid brat,'_ thought Kurama in slight anger and a hint of fondness as he saw a younger Naruto in the blonde-blue-eyed young nun. _'Making me soft. Oh well, I guess killing them would cause more trouble than it's worth so I'll settle for teaching them a lesson.'_

"ASIA!" yelled a now-furious Issei as he switched directions and tried to rush Kurama from behind.

Only for Kurama to disappear from his spot and appear in the air beside Issei with his right leg, which was now glowing with red energy, pulled back. "While emotions give you a boost, never let them dictate your actions in combat."

With that, Kurama kicked Issei in the head, instantly shattering his scale mail and sending him crashing into a nearby building, seemingly taking him out of the fight as well.

Kurama landed and easily dodged a slash from the blond-haired kid with a bored look in his eyes. He continued to do so as the other, much more slower ones approached and Rossweisse took an unconscious Asia out of the range of the fight.

Kurama sneered as he dodged the brat's attacks with ease. Once he was bored with that, he concentrated his demonic chakra into his right hand where he created a solid odachi sword made of his Biju energy and used it to impale Kiba through the stomach.

As Kiba yelled in pain both from the wound and the demonic energy burning his insides, Kurama sneered at the boy. "What the hell was that?! This is a fight, not a movie choreography. Leave the flashy crap for the movies. In a fight, the only goal is to kill your enemy, not show off how good your swordsmanship looks."

Kiba glared and called on his Sacred Gear and summoned a large amount of swords beneath Kurama's feet.

Kurama rolled his eyes and channeled his energy into the floor directly beneath him, preventing swords from forming beneath him. The end result was swords forming around him but none coming close to hurting him.

"A waste of energy that could have been used for other tactics," sneered Kurama. "Furthermore..."

Kurama quickly ripped a copy of Holy Eraser from the ground with his free hand and used it to block Irina's light sword. The attributes of the sword caused her holy energy to be absorbed into it, leaving Irina defenseless.

"... your swords can be used against your allies," finished Kurama before tossing Kiba aside and into a wall where he collapsed unconscious. At the same time, Kurama slashed Irina from her left hip to her right shoulder. A spray of blood came from the wound, covering Kurama in her blood though he looked unbothered by it.

"As for you," said a dismissive Kurama. "Angels with less than six wings have no place on the battlefield. Come back when you're actually worth acknowledging."

Kurama then raised a single finger, blocking Durandal from hitting him in the head from a furious Xenovia. Kurama then looked at the blade before looking at the now-shocked former exorcist.

"And you are the most pathetic of the bunch," said Kurama condescendingly. "Durandal can destroy anything. The fact I can stop it with one finger shows _your_ weakness, not the sword's. You try to hold back the sword's power instead of _unleashing_ it." Kurama sneered. "You will never be able to wield this sword properly until you embrace the true concept of Destruction."

Kurama then disappeared in a red flash before appearing behind a still-shocked Xenovia. Instantly a large cut appeared on Xenovia's back that mirrored the one on Irina's, causing blood to spray from it as well before Xenovia collapsed from the pain.

"And then there was one," said Kurama before turning to the now just returning Rossweisse who looked on in shock at how quickly her friends had been taken out. Now that he focused on her, Kurama blinked in shock.

"Rossweisse?" asked Kurama in shock. "Little Rosie?!"

Indeed, now that he had calmed down and focused on her, he recognized the energy signature of the little girl he knew years ago when he was traveling the world. Last time he saw her she was just a cute 9-year-old who blushed and stuttered whenever she looked at him.

"Wow!" Kurama's eyes roved up and down Rossweisse's _very_ mature body with a leer, causing said girl to blush deeply. "You've grown up quite nicely."

Rossweisse blush deepened and she stuttered slightly despite the circumstances. She had recognized Kurama the moment he appeared as the man who visited her family when she was young. However, she hadn't thought he would recognize her after so many years since seeing each other. She had wondered why he stopped visiting all those years ago and was surprised to see him again. To tell the truth, he had been her first crush despite her young age. Her bad boy persona and attitude attracting the, even then, bookish and shy girl immensely.

Rossweisse broke out of her blush when she reminded herself that this same man just took out her friends, a Maou and Azazel with ease and they were currently fighting. She felt sick with unease as she looked to see how badly injured her friends were.

Kurama noticed where her attention was and was quick to reassure her. "Don't worry, they'll be fine. Heavily injured but not lethal once they get medical attention. I wasn't aiming to kill them."

That seemed to reassure Rossweisse but she tensed when she saw Kurama smirk. "Now little Rosie," said Kurama with a smirk. "Let's see how much you've grown in other ways."

Rossweisse quickly summoned a magical circle at his words and unleashed her magic on him.

Kurama hummed as he easily dodged the gouts of every element including ice,fire,water, lightning, wind, thunder, light and explosive-based magic. The wide variety of magic types was quite impressive and he could tell that her magic circle was self-made and quite complex. The little girl he'd known had grown up to be quite strong however...

Kurama disappeared in a flash of red, only to appeared behind Rossweisse's magic circle and in front of a shocked Rossweisse. "You have a large variety of magics but like all jack-of-all-trades, you've mastered none. Never move on to a new skill or type of magic until you've mastered every aspect of the previous."

With that, Kurama put a finger on the still-shocked Rossweisse's forehead and channeled his energy in a specific pattern. A small seal temporarily appeared on Rossweisse's forehead before she instantly fell asleep, falling into a ready Kurama's arms.

Kurama had a small smile on his face as he saw how cute a sleeping Rossweisse looked. "Still... not bad, Rosie. You've grown quite strong."

The smile dropped off his face as he turned and used his right hand to backhand a red beam of energy away from him, where it crashed into the floor behind and to the right of him. Kurama growled at the standing Issei who, while no longer having Scale Mail, still had his gauntlet on his left hand from his Dragon Shot.

Kurama growled at the fact that the brat apparently was willing to hurt Rossweisse to get him, raising his anger at the apparently backstabbing move. Of course, Issei hadn't attacked thinking of hurting Rossweisse. From where he was standing, he hadn't seen that Rossweisse was only asleep and thought Kurama had killed her which caused him to lash out. It was only when Kurama gently placed her on the floor that he saw that she was just asleep and caused him to cringe as he realized he had inadvertently put her in danger with his attack.

Kurama knew none of this and only growled at what he perceived to be his cowardly attack and decided to teach the brat a lesson.

Kurama disappeared in a red flash and appeared before Issei, surprising the boy. Before he could react, Kurama slammed his hand in a claw shape, each finger glowing a different color, into Issei's abdomen.

"Five Elements Seal!" yelled Kurama as he slammed his hand into the boy. Kurama smirked as he felt the seal take effect and seal away the boy's Sacred Gear, causing the boy to fall unconscious for real this time.

The Five Elements was an expert-level seal that allowed the user to seal away an internal source of energy of the one it was applied to. What it sealed away was up to the user and it was quite flexible. The best thing was that unless the counter-seal was applied, it was permanent meaning that unless Kurama decided to unseal him, the boy would never be able to use his Sacred Gear again.

Kurama glared down at the boy, still angry at his perceived willingness to harm his comrades to get an advantage over him. He had thought the boy was similar to Naruto in some ways but it as blatantly obvious he wasn't. Naruto would have never have risked or used one of his allies in such a way and it angered Kurama to think he ever thought they were similar.

Kurama was broken out of his angry thoughts when he heard the old tengu call for Kunou and said girl appear standing between him and the unconscious Issei with her hands outstretched.

"T-That's enough!" said Kunou with a stutter and her knees slightly shaking but still clearly. "Don't hurt them anymore."

Kurama blinked at her words which reminded him strongly of Yasaka's one time when Kurama attacked a pair of nobles who mocked his half-breed status. And underneath that, it brought back an old and bittersweet memory.

* * *

 _A much younger Kurama was laying on the floor, his back a mess of red bleeding lines from his father's latest "discipline session". Every time Kurama would fail to meet his expectations, his "father" would give him a special session in an attempt to 'toughen him up'. In reality, it was just a way for the bitter man to unleash his frustrations on his seemingly weak son._

 _The session would have gone on longer if it wasn't for the red-haired girl currently standing between him and his father pointing a sword at the latter with an angry look on her face._

" _If you ever touch him again," yelled the fifteen year old kitsune girl in a furious tone. "I swear I'll kill you! Do you hear me?! I will kill you if you ever hurt him again!"_

 _The man looked furious at her words. "You'd defy_ me _?! For_ him _?!"_

* * *

Kurama was brought out of the memory when Kunou answered, not realizing he had repeated his father's words.

"Yes," said Kunou shyly with a few tears in her eyes but clear enough to be heard. "Please, Tou-san, don't hurt them anymore."

A complicated expression crossed Kurama's face before he reached out to Kunou with a blank look. Her courage failing her, Kunou closed her eyes, awaiting the blow she expected to come.

Instead, she felt a hand land on her head and gently rub it. Opening her eyes, Kunou was shocked to see a smile on her father's face. The effect washed away the stern lines on his face and made him seem much more handsome and kind than before.

"Such a crybaby, just like your mother," said Kurama with a soft smile. "But... at least you stand up for what you believe in, even against those stronger than you, just like her."

 _'And maybe,'_ thought a treacherous part of Kurama's mind. _'Just like your aunt.'_

Kurama clamped down on those thoughts and the hope that came from them, not willing to dwell on the possibility. Looking down at the wide-eyed little kitsune girl, Kurama gently picked her up in his arms, causing said girl to smile and happily snuggle in his arms.

Turning to the old tengu, Kuram spoke. "Take them to infirmary to get treated. None of their wounds should be lethal if properly treated." He paused before reluctantly continuing. "Take them to the palace infirmary, it's closer." Seeing the destruction the fight had caused, Kurama added something else. "And take any injured bystanders as well. Anyone whose home was damaged in the fight can stay in the palace while it's repaired. Take the cost out of my personal accounts, I imagine they're still available?"

The old tengu was shocked at the generosity at both the devils and toward the general public but quickly nodded. "Yes, Kurama-dono. Your accounts are still open. Yasaka-dono made sure that all your investments and accounts flourished in your absence and refrained from touching them in any way during your absence. You are quite a bit richer."

Kurama absently nodded as he noticed Kunou had fallen asleep in his arms. "Good. Now it seems like all the excitement has tired the young princess out. Can direct me to her room?"

The fox lady stepped forward and bowed, agreeing to do so while the old tengu started directing the other youkai to take the injured devils and angels to the infirmary.

Kurama started to follow behind the fox lady before pausing, getting the old tengu's attention. "Also... gather the generals. Tell them I've ordered to report themselves immediately."

The old tengu paused before nodding his head in agreement. "As you command, Kurama-dono."

With that, Kurama nodded and followed the fox lady to Kunou's room, all the while trying not to think about how right it felt to hold Kunou in his arms like this and what it meant.

* * *

It was about two hours since the fight and night had fallen. However, Kurama was not at the palace but standing in a small clearing not far from it. Close enough to sense any ill intent directed toward anyone there as well as react accordingly but not too close to be stumbled upon.

Kurama had used his large amount of seal knowledge to construct a barrier around the large clearing, both stopping anyone from stumbling into the clearing, sensing anything inside it and stopping any stray attacks from leaving and hurting anyone.

This clearing would be his training ground while he attempted to get a grasp on his new capabilities. The recent fight showed that he no knowledge as to his new limits and that needed to be rectified. For one thing, it was the first time in millennia that he had felt pain. In the Elemental Nations, he had been more of a mass of solidified chakra than an actual flesh and blood body. Pain in that form was more of sensing chakra in a certain area dispersing from an attack than actual pain. It was the surprise of feeling it more than anything that had broken him out of senjutsu-induced rage than any actual damage.

It was just one of many things he would have to get used to again.

Kurama was currently sitting cross-legged on the floor with his eyes closed as he drew in the natural energy. Ready for the influx of negative emotions now, Kurama easily ignored them thanks to his iron will. Millennia of sensing negative emotions in the Elemental Nations had made him immune to being affected by them and it was only the fact that he hadn't been expecting it that caused it to affect him.

But now he could easily use it without it affecting him as shown when he opened his eyes, a slit in each eye showing his sage mode being in effect.

However, Kurama frowned when he realized something. The natural energy was... different here. He didn't know if it was the wide variety energies here, the presence of devils or event he effects of the Great War but the natural energy seemed... polluted somehow. It wasn't as pure as the Elemental Nations which caused its effects to be noticeably weaker.

In the Elemental Nations, the natural energy gave an old barely meter tall toad enough strength to lift a 50 ton solid stone toad statue with ease. The boost from senjutsu had been phenomenal, giving Naruto enough power to stand toe to toe with him for a time.

Here, however, the polluted natural energy made it much less effective. He barely felt his attributes double from the natural energy which was a far cry from the Elemental Nations natural energy. He could still feel his senses expand greatly but the natural boost was much less than if he simply used his biju chakra. If he wanted the same effect as the Elemental Nations, he would have to purify the natural energy inside him before using it, something extremely difficult to do considering he himself was classified as a demon.

Not impossible but still difficult. It would take years of practice to be able to do that in combat if not longer.

That thought gave Kurama an idea and he made a familiar cross shape before channeling his chakra in a familiar and nostalgic way.

A puff of smoke appeared beside him before it cleared, revealing a perfect shadow clone of Kurama. The two Kuramas smiled widely at each other as they realized what this meant.

He had been part of Naruto for so long that it wasn't a surprise he could create shadow clones on the first try. It was almost subconscious at this point. The fact he created only one showed he would need to work on it so he could create more but once he did, he would be able to greatly speed up his training.

Kurama got the memories of his clones when they dispelled so making two clones and training all day would mean getting three days worth of training. Four clones would mean five and so on and so forth. At his prime, Naruto had been able to create over a thousand Shadow Clones and Kurama aimed to match that feat. Once he did that, as long as he was careful not to dispel too many at once and dispelled them periodically so all the clones would get advances at once, he would be able to get years of training every day, greatly speeding up his training.

Kurama smiled widely and laughed as he remembered the thousands of jutsus and techniques he had seen along his long life in the Elemental Nations. Due to being a Biju, he had perfect recall so he remembered them perfectly and would be able to recreate most of them. Probably not the bloodline techniques but the others... oh yes.

Kurama grinned as he started to create more Shadow Clones who went off to train what he remembered.

Look out world, there was a new #1 and he was coming out with a bang!

* * *

 ** **AN: And that's chapter 2!****

 ** **Really sorry for the long wait but I have only one excuse: Skyrim. Lol. A friend sold me his Skyrim legendary edition for PS3 and I started to play it. And as anyone whose played it can tell you, it literally sucks time like a black hole. I literally didn't realize three weeks had passed since a reviewer sent me a message asking when was the next chapter. I forgot who it was but thank him or else this would have come out much later.****

 ** **Anyway, people asked me not to write a rage Kurama but I had to for various reasons. One was to drive home the fact that this was NOT the Elemental Nations to Kurama. Different universe, different rules and while extremely powerful, he still needs to train to see what his new limits are. Also, I added the small Kurama/Kunou part at the end to illustrate how different Kurama has become from before he left to the Elemental Nations. He's still prideful and easily angered but is more willing to forgive others and let his anger go. That's Naruto's influence right there by the way.****

 ** **Oh, one thing. As you can see I hinted as to a past between Rossweisse and Kurama. However, at the moment I'm unsure as to make it possibly romantic or just old friends. I was leaning toward the latter but at the same time... Rossweisse is freaking hot and leaving her to Issei is a crime. Lol. But I also don't want the harem to be too large. Which brings me to my last problem. I had planned for Irene Belserion to be in the story as an ex-girlfriend of Kurama's. She even had an important role and everything in a future arc. The problem is that if I add her, then Erza comes as well. But that would make it so Kurama had three daughters: Shirone, Erza and Kunou. And well... it seems like a bit much. Like seriously, did he leave a trail of bastards wherever he went? Lol.****

 ** **So I need your opinion. Should I add Irene or not? Also, should Rossweisse be part of the harem or not? Leave me your opinion in the review or send a PM.****

 ** **Oh and I need a beta so anyone that can do it, please send a message.****

 ** **As always, Read and Review!****


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, setting, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. All other concepts and ideas from other books or stories belong to their respective authors. No copyright infringement is intended.**

* * *

 **Inner Kyoto Palace medical wing, Japan**

Issei Hyodou groaned as he slowly returned to the world of the living,

He opened his eyes to see a white ceiling above him but when he tried to move, he winced as pain racked his body. He felt as if he'd been run over by a horde of angry gorillas.

On steroids.

Confused as to the reason behind the pain, it took a while for the memories of the beating at Kurama's hands to filter through the haze of unconsciousness (not to mention possible brain damage from the beating). Once it did, he sat up straight, earning a strained hiss as pain racked through him and causing the person sitting beside his bed to take notice of his now awakened status, as well as alerting the nurses who went to alert his visitors outside.

"Isse-san!" yelled Asia in distress. She had been sitting by his bedside the entire time while he was recovering; waiting to see how he was so she could finish healing him. Seeing he was still in pain, Asia activated her Twilight Healing and healed the rest of his injuries. She had wanted to do so before, but the doctors forbid her, wanting him to wake up on his own first. Considering his current condition, they didn't want the possibility of foreign energy worsening his condition until they were sure he was at least conscious.

Issei sighed in relief as he felt the pain of his injuries fade away, a part of him wondering why they hadn't healed him like this before. Once he felt the last of it fade, he opened his eyes to see his bed was now surrounded by his friends, Serafall and Azazel, having entered the room while Asia healed him. They were all in various states of injury, making Issei wonder why Asia hadn't healed them yet.

Stretching slightly and smiling when he felt no pain, he thanked Asia before turning to his visitors. "Hey guys! Guess I was the last to wake up?"

"Yes, Issei," said Azazel with a worried frown. "How are you feeling?"

Issei looked confused at the worried look on his face, which he realized was mirrored on everyone else's faces. "Better now that Asia's healed me. Did Asia just wake up since I'm wondering why she hasn't healed any of you?"

Asia looked depressed at his words and the others frowned. "Something in the injuries is rejecting Asia's attempts at healing us," said Azazel with a deep frown. "Some kind of energy that is making her have to use a lot more energy than usual to heal us. Since the wounds weren't too bad and she's still recovering from her own injuries, we decided to let them heal naturally. We were more worried about you actually."

"Me?" said Issei with a confused blink on his face before a nervous look came across it. "Is something wrong with me?"

The look they all shared didn't reassure Issei at all but Serafall eventually answered. "First, you should know that it's been two days since the fight and you've been unconscious for all of it."

Issei looked shocked at the revelation. Even when he'd died and been resurrected, he hadn't taken that long to heal. Heck, even after taking a light spear to the gut the day after, he'd healed overnight.

"Two days?!" yelped Issei in distress before his eyes widened. "The school trip! What are we going to do about-"

"We've handled it," said Azazel abruptly, easing his worries. "We had to use a bit of mind magic to send the rest of the year back early stating some kind of emergency but they're all safe back at Kuoh while we sort this all out."

"Rias and the others wanted to come," continued Serafall with a pout which turned into a frown. "But we decided it was best if she stayed put. More devils coming here would only exacerbate the tension between our factions right now which is the last thing we need."

Issei grimaced as he remembered the beating they all received at Yasaka's husband's hands. Yeah, it was probably best if Rias was safe far away from here. He decided to change the subject. "Were my wounds really that bad that it took so long to heal?" asked Issei nervously, inwardly wondering how he had survived if he had been so badly wounded.

Again, Serafall and Azazel shared a look before the latter spoke. "Actually, your wounds were pretty easy to heal and they healed quickly... but you still didn't wake up. It took a while but we realized the possible reasons behind it. You see-"

However, before he could continue to explain, the door to the hospital wing opened once more, this time revealing the old tengu, the kitsune lady and none other than Kunou walking in, the last with a worried frown. Said frown disappeared into relief when she saw Issei awake.

"Governor-dono, Maou-dono," said the old tengu formally before turning to Issei. "Issei-dono, I am relieved to see you have awoken. Kurama-dono assured us you would be fine but we had begun to worry. How are you feeling?"

"Um..." all this worry about him was starting to freak Issei out but he answered regardless. "I'm fine now that Asia healed me. Is something wrong?"

The old tengu frowned before looking from Azazel to Issei. "They haven't told you?"

"He just woke up," explained Azazel calmly. "We haven't had time to explain his new condition yet."

"I'm sorry," said Kunou with tears in her eyes. "This is my fault. If I hadn't brought you here, none of this would have happened."

Seeing the cute girl about to cry pulled on Issei's heart strings and despite the growing worry in the pit of his stomach, he smiled down at her reassuringly. "It's not your fault, Kunou so lift your head. Honestly, I don't know what you're all worried about. I feel fine if a bit weak. I'm sure that's just from laying down for so long and I'll be back to normal in no time."

"Actually..." Azazel had a complicated look on his face. "You won't. At least for a while yet. Have you tried to contact Ddraig yet?"

Issei blinked, just now realizing he hadn't heard his partner's voice since waking up. Usually, he would have said something by now, usually about how badly he'd lost or how long it'll take to heal but now there was nothing.

Closing his eyes, Issei called out to his partner. _'Ddraig! You there, partner?'_ Hearing only silence, Issei tried harder, the pit of unease in his gut solidifying. It was worse because ever since they first contacted each other, Issei had been able to feel Ddraig's presence even if he didn't speak yet now he felt nothing. _'Come on, partner, are you okay?!'_

When he still heard nothing, Issei opened his eyes in panic. "Guys, I can't feel Ddraig! Did something happen while I was asleep?!"

The looks on the adults turned grim while the younger teens all frowned, looking disturbed. "What is the last thing you remember before passing out, Issei?" asked Azazel seriously.

Issei racked his brain before he remembered how Kurama knocked him out of the fight for good.

 _ **Kurama disappeared in a red flash and appeared before Issei, surprising the boy. Before he could react, Kurama slammed his hand in a claw shape, each finger glowing a different color, into Issei's abdomen.**_

 _ **"Five Elements Seal!" yelled Kurama as he slammed his hand into the boy. Instantly, Issei felt as if something integral had been cut off from him, causing him to pass out from the shock.**_

"That guy, Kurama," said Issei slowly and nervously. "He hit me with something. I think he called it some kind of seal."

Azazel nodded grimly while the old tengu looked guilty and apologetic.

"That confirms our theories and some of what Kurama-dono revealed to me after the... ahem, fight. Apparently, Kurama-dono learned seals during his time away and has mastered them to an incredible point. If you could please, check your abdomen?" The tengu said.

Complying, Issei lowered his sheets and lifted his hospital shirt slightly, causing the girls sans Serafall to blush at the sight, showing a new addition to his stomach area.

There was some kind of design on his stomach that looked similar to a star with five points. Issei didn't understand the fancy designs or what it meant but he got the feeling it wasn't good.

"What's this?!" asked Issei in shock at his new tattoo. Oh Maou, his parents would kill him if they thought he got a tattoo. He'd look like some kind of delinquent! Worse, what would Buchou think?!

"The doctors found it when they checked you over and it was the only thing that could explain your condition," said Azazel with a grave look on his face. "When the old tengu questioned Kurama, he admitted that it was a seal and that it would wear off in about a month but that he refused to take it off before then unless we promised to leave the capital for good."

Issei looked at Azazel in slight fear. "What does it do?"

Azazel sighed, before despite the situation, an intrigued look came to his face as he explained. No matter what the situation, he was a scientist at heart.

"From what we've seen it's a seal that cuts you off from your Sacred Gear, making it impossible for you to access it in anyway. Kurama said it was 'a seal that cuts you off from foreign internal forces, forcing you to rely on something else'. It really is quite fascinating not to mention its myriad applications against enemy Sacred Gear wielders. Some of the world's biggest threats; taken down with just a simple-looking seal. It really is quite fascinating." He explained in his scientist tone.

As well as terrifying. Considering his unmatched speed, ability to seemingly teleport, strength and ruthlessness, he would be able to take down even Vali easily. While he was incredibly strong with his Divine Dividing, he was only High-class to Ultimate-class without it. It was an ability that reminded Azazel strongly of another ability that a certain Satan descendant had that could cancel Sacred Gears with just a touch.

Yet this seemed much more versatile. After all, this seemed like a simple seal in both form and application yet was impossible to undo without the counter-seal. At least not without possibly damaging Issei in a fatal way. Unlike that man's ability, it lasted longer and didn't have to be activated each time. While it wasn't permanent, it certainly negated a Sacred Gear wielder much better.

Furthermore, this was just one seal. From what the old tengu told me Kurama said, the latter was a seal master who knew thousands of different seals (some from what he hinted could be used to seal Sacred Gears away permanently). Seals had always been something that interested Azazel due to their application in creating Sacred Gears as well as his father's usage of them in sealing away a certain entity. However, even after millennia of study, he knew very little about sealing except the basics.

Sealing was a very obscure art and the few who could use it kept their secrets very close to the chest. Not to mention, he didn't even recognize this sealing style at all which meant it might even be his own self-made style and without a base to start off he couldn't even hope to undo it.

This supposedly 'simple' seal was beyond his ability and if this was considered simple, he really didn't want to know what Kurama considered complex.

Especially, since it didn't just seal away his Sacred Gear...

"There's more, Issei-kun," said Serafall gently, knowing that this next piece of information might be taken badly. Rias certainly had. "Can you reveal your devil wings?"

With a sense of utter dread, Issei tried to do just that... only for nothing to happen. Concentrating more deeply, Issei felt none of the admittedly small amount of demonic power he's had since he was reincarnated as a devil.

"The seal also sealed away the effects of your Evil Piece," said Azazel sadly. "For all intents and purposes, you're just a normal human until the seal wears off."

There was a beat of silence before...

"...EEEHHH!?"

* * *

Kurama flinched slightly as he walked down the streets toward his destination as one of his clones popped, transferring the memories of the training his clones were undergoing to him. This one was one of his close combat training clones so his last memory was of failing to correctly block an incoming block which punched him hard enough that if it wasn't a clone, he would have lost his head.

As Kurama continued toward his destination, he mused over his training the past two days as well as his investigations into his wife's kidnapping.

After having confirmed to be able to create shadow clones, Kurama had divided them into two groups. One group would practice to master the various ninjutsu he'd seen over the centuries (with emphasis on his elemental affinities: fire and wind) until he'd mastered them. The second group, however, would work on his taijutsu. This group training would be done using the special shadow clones Naruto had created later in life: the self-named tank shadow clones.

During his later years, Naruto had taken to experimenting with his various signature jutsu and techniques. After reaching the limit of how he could manipulate the Rasengan, he had turned to his other signature technique: the Shadow Clone jutsu.

It had taken a few years but he had discovered a way to overcome the shadow clones' weakness of dispelling with one hit no matter how much chakra he put in them. He did this by combining his own chakra with highly condensed traces of Kurama's biju chakra which was naturally already extremely dense. The result was an incredibly durable and stable clone that would only dispel with a lethal hit and still retained the ability to transfer all its memories upon doing so.

Of course, for this seemingly great benefit, there were a few weaknesses. First was that no matter how much chakra they put into them, they never lasted longer than twenty-four hours making them useless for long-term scouting missions. Kurama (nor Naruto) never understood the reasons behind this but it had something to do with durability vs longevity, where adding to one side of the equation detracted from other.

Second, was that they took an _enormous_ amount of chakra to create even in comparison to the already chakra-intensive regular shadow clones. At his prime, Naruto could create over ten thousand regular shadow clones (which he later named "scout" shadow clones) but in comparison could only create one thousand "tank" shadow clones. In fact, he doubted anyone else; even other jinchuriki could create more than a dozen of his "tank" shadow clones. Heck, maybe not even that since as an Uzumaki, his chakra reserves were already incredibly dense and massive. Adding Kurama's seemingly limitless reserves meant that Naruto was truly a monster among monsters when it came to chakra reserves.

Still, one thousand tank clones were still a respectable amount, especially in battle. One thousand Narutos, each about one-tenth as strong as the original, that could only dispel with a lethal hit was a terrifying force to face on the battlefield. Especially since he still kept his incredible ability to hide among his clones flawlessly, not even a Hyuuga or Uchiha would be capable of telling them apart.

For Kurama, he couldn't make quite that amount. He hadn't tested his limits but he could make at least one hundred without that much effort so they made perfect clones to practice his taijutsu. They could cut loose and fight to kill without them dispelling too quickly (which was a weakness of the "scout" shadow clones) and allowed him slowly readjust to having a physical body again.

In hindsight, his fight with the two Satan-class leaders of their respective factions was pathetic. He could have easily have taken them down in his base form alone if he had been capable of using all the techniques he had knowledge of.

He knew first-hand that sheer power wasn't everything. For all their strength, neither Madara nor Hashirama ever had the sheer power to face him head-on much less match his near limitless chakra reserves. Despite that, they had access to techniques and abilities that neutralized his superior power and strength and turned him into little more than their pet. In the end, their natural abilities and techniques trumped his sheer power.

For that reason, he was training himself to at least have basic competence in a large amount of skills and techniques while readjusting to having a flesh and blood body. He was making sure to cover all his bases so that he had no weaknesses. It would be embarrassing to the extreme if he was forced to enter his true, biju form for some puny human with a Longinus or something similar simply because he didn't have the sheer power in his base to simply overpower them.

Therefore, getting used to his old/new body as well as polishing his hand to hand was a must if he planned to rescue his wife. Despite their arguments, Kurama would never say his wife wasn't strong. Inexperienced in true combat? Perhaps she was. But her raw power more than made up for it against any but the strongest and most experienced opponents.

This said several things about the ones who captured her. One, they were obviously as strong or at least close in strength to Ultimate-class beings in strength and skill. Either they were humans with high-tier Longinus and were extremely skilled at using them or they were several Ultimate-class beings.

Another possibility was that they had something that allowed them to neutralize her power similar to Hashirama and Madara but Kurama doubted such abilities existed in this world. True, he could do that with his mastery of sealing but that was an extremely rare and obscure art in this world to the point that there had only been three confirmed users of it, one of which was dead now.

However, it was much more likely to have been a Longinus user. Before dying, one of his wife's surviving guards spoke of a strange mist that appeared from nowhere and covered them just as they were attacked.

Research showed Kurama that one Sacred Gear, specifically a Longinus, had a similar ability that would explain not only how his wife was taken but why there was no evidence of a fight anywhere nearby: Dimension Lost.

Dimension Lost had the ability to transport anything inside its mist to an artificial space. If it was a Dimension Lost user, they could have easily have transported his wife's entire group to a place of their choosing where they had the advantage. It would also explain why they couldn't find their wife despite she was obviously still in Kyoto. This artificial space was obviously connected to Kyoto which meant his wife could still maintain the leylines while still being impossible to find.

This led to the second thing that his wife's capture revealed: there was a traitor among them.

Even _if_ they had a Dimension Lost user, it wouldn't explain how they not only located her far from the palace's protections but also managed to ambush them. This would only be possible if they knew about the planned meeting and possible route beforehand. Questioning the old tengu revealed that very few on their side knew about her planned meeting with Sun Wukong and those that did were almost above reproach. Kurama still had disguised clones keeping an eye on them but he had the feeling the traitor didn't come from his side or at least not the only traitor.

This left only one option: Sun Wukong's party.

While he didn't believe Sun Wukong had anything to do with it, those on his side who knew of the upcoming meeting were unknown to Kurama and therefore, prime suspects.

It was for this reason he wanted everyone not of their faction out of Kyoto. The more people involved; the more chances that there was a leak among them. Finding his wife would be useless if they knew he was coming, after all. They could either move her before he arrived or prepare for his coming.

And he was not gambling his beloved wife's life with him in a less than peak state. Even two days hadn't been enough to explore all the limits of his new strength. He had a good idea of the limits of his current base form, which easily reached Satan-class in power but his 'higher' forms were still beyond him.

Among them was entering Sage Mode which still escaped him.

Kurama scowled at the thought of his repeated failures in his once familiar and easy ability but stopped all thoughts about it as he reached his destination.

He was currently standing in front of a familiar bar on the edge of what was considered the 'bad' side of town. From the rowdy music sound of talking coming from inside, Kurama could tell that business was obviously booming despite the extremely early (or late depending on how you looked at it) hour, with the sun just peeking over the horizon.

As soon as he entered the bar, he saw the obvious reason for the many patrons even at this early hour.

There was a squirrel youkai dressed in an almost scandalous combination of an orange fighter top that only covered the top half of her large breasts (that almost matched his wife's in size), black strap panties with an orange skirt-like cloth, long black stockings and orange boots. She was obviously the waitress considering she was waling around seemingly taking orders, though from the way the patrons were eyeing her, they probably didn't even know what they ordering.

Not that Kurama could blame them. If he wasn't a happily taken man married to a literal goddess, he would have already been getting to know the squirrel youkai _much_ better.

…. Gods, it had been a long time. Yasaka won't be able to walk straight ever again once he was done with her.

Sighing to himself, Kurama turned away from the admittedly lovely sight toward the barman, signaling him to get his attention.

The barman, a baku by the look and smell of him, approached him once he was done talking to a customer and and grunted slightly. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah," said Kurama as he discreetly passed over ten thousand yen over the table. "I heard that there was a girl named Makoto Nanaya here. Can you tell me where I can find her?"

The barman took the bribe, checked that it was genuine before grunting and nodding over Kurama's shoulder. "Oh, Makoto! You got a solicitor!"

Turning, Kurama saw the waitress he had seen beforehand turn at the call and look at him in confusion. Suddenly, she seemed to recognize him because she beamed at him before dropping what she was doing and running toward him into a flying tackle with a cry of "Uncle Kura!"

Kurama's eyes widened even as he reflexively opened his arms to accept the hug, his mind running miles at this recent revelation.

Makoto had been a young squirrel youkai that he had adopted back during the civil war. Her parents had been killed by some asshole noble who tried to shake them down. But when they resisted, he'd killed them for "offending" him.

Kurama had found the traumatized and orphaned Makoto not long after and taken her under his wing, teaching her how to defend herself in this harsh world. Eventually, she had become their unofficial little spy, using her cuteness and young age to get people to talk about things around her they usually wouldn't around others. Thanks to her, they had gotten a lot of information that saved their butts in later conflicts.

After the war, Kurama had been at a loss at what to do with her though. He wanted to take her to the palace but he didn't want her exposed to the sometimes brutal politics of the place. She had seen enough bloodshed during the war as it was and deserved some semblance of a normal life.

Eventually, Kurama and the other four generals had decided on buying a small house where one of them would be at all times to watch over her while she went to a nearby school.

It had been extremely dysfunctional; especially considering Makoto was in no ways normal and never really got along with the other kids her age. It didn't help that Kurama and the others were equally strange and where another parent would be dismayed, Kurama had only been proud when he found out that Makoto basically controlled her school (and its teachers) through a mix of bribery and blackmail.

It was hard to compare that young girl that always had a cute scheming look on her face to the voluptuous bombshell currently hugging him. It actually made him feel slightly ill that he had basically been turned on by someone he had considered an adopted little sister.

 _'Dammit!'_ thought Kurama as he hugged the beauty while trying, and failing, not to get an erection at the feel of her body against his. _'First Rossweisse and now Makoto?! Did_ every _girl I know when they were young turn into total babes?!'_

He hadn't really noticed during the fight but Rossweisse had grown up _really_ well. I mean, damn she was almost as hot as his wife and his wife could give Aphrodite a run for her money.

Kurama was brought out of his thoughts and attempts to stop his erection when Makoto broke the hug and smiled up at him. "Uncle Kurama, where have you been?! You just disappeared one day and we couldn't find you!"

Kurama flinched at the hurt tone hidden beneath her cheerful exclamation. It was obvious she was hiding the deep hurt his disappearance had caused and it sent yet another dagger of guilt into his heart. Dammit, but he'd been selfish when he'd taken the old man's offer.

Kurama gave a strained smile. "I'll tell you all about it after. Can you talk or are you busy?"

At that, Makoto turned to the barman. "Hey, Ren! I'm going to take my break now, is that alright?" The now named Ren shrugged and nodded, making Makoto turn back to him. "I am now! Come on, let's go to my apartment."

Nodding, Kurama followed the girl-now-woman out of the bar, ignoring the wolf whistles and catcalls from the other customers with gritted teeth. He made a mental note to punch each of their lights out at the first opportunity.

They eventually reached a nearby apartment complex and Kurama frowned at its barely standing state. The idea of the little girl he'd adopted living in this place put a bad taste in his mouth and he made a mental note to talk to his wife about letting Makoto live in this kind of place.

They quickly walked up the staircase to the third floor, Makoto greeting the people she passed by name and an inquiry about a friend or family member. Anyone else would have taken her as simply being concerned but Kurama noticed how Makoto steered the conversation so they revealed more than most would such as how one man's wife was annoyed at him having allowed his sick mother to stay with them. Or how one woman suspected her husband was cheating on her with her best friend.

Kurama smirked to himself as Makoto did all this all while seeming kind and affable, giving support all while not promising anything. It was this ability that made Makoto such a good spymaster during the civil war, her ability to seem completely kind and unassuming so you don't suspect anything until she slit your throat.

They eventually reached her apartment and she let him in with a flourish, letting him enter first.

Kurama looked around and saw it was a cozy little place though considering the mess, it seemed Makoto's cleaning habits (none whatsoever) hadn't changed. Still, it gave off a feeling of home so he imagined she must like it well enough. Naruto had been abnormally attached to his apartment and had only moved out after marrying Hinata despite having the money to do so before.

"So how have you be-" started Kurama only to be cut off quite abruptly.

SLAP!

Kurama blinked as his mind caught up to the fact that the slight sting on his left cheek did indeed come from being slapped by his cute little sister. He blinked once more before turning back to Makoto who was now glaring at him with tears at the corner of her eyes.

"You better start talking," growled Makoto through gritted teeth. "You better have a good explanation as to where you've been all these years or so help me, I'm going to kick your ass so bad you won't be able to sit down for a week!"

Usually, Kurama would react extremely harshly to being hit but two things stopped him. One, this was _Makoto_. The cute little girl he'd adopted as his little sister. He could no more lay a hand on her than he could rip out his internal organs.

…. okay, that was a bad example since he could actually do that and survive thanks to his healing factor. But you get the point.

Another reason was the look on her face. It was a look of absolute emotional pain that broke his heart.

Kurama grimaced. Kami, he was a selfish dick. When the old man had come with his offer, he hadn't even thought of all those he was hurting with his disappearance. He could only imagine what his disappearance had done to this girl who had already lost her parents when she was young.

Sighing, Kurama sat down with a guilty look on his face. "I'm not going to lie. My reason was very selfish. An old man came and offered power in exchange for coming with him to do something for a while. He said it would take a while but I would be back so I didn't even think about it twice." Kurama looked away, not wanting to meet Makoto's eyes. "You know what that kind of offer would have done to me."

Makoto grimaced and frowned as she realized exactly how tempting that offer would have been to Kurama. Even at twelve, she had seen how obsessed with power he had been. She never knew the exact reason but she guessed it had something to do with his deceased sister. He had been extremely overprotective of her and she had heard him mutter once or twice that he wouldn't fail her like he failed his sister. She had a few hypothesis as to what happened and none of them good.

So someone appearing promising him power with the only price being away for a little while? Yeah, he probably didn't even hesitate.

Makoto sighed. She didn't forgive him, not by a long shot. His disappearance had hurt her deeply and she'd been a mess for years afterwards. However, she wasn't exactly sane or normal by any definition, none of their weird family had been. They all had distorted personalities that would get them thrown into a loony bin in the human world.

Makoto herself had an obsessive paranoid need to know everything about everyone around her in some desperate need to have some measure of control of her life. She spied on _everyone_ she came into even the slightest contact with and trusted almost no one. If she couldn't figure someone out she would become paranoid that they were out to get her and either try to kill them or move away from them our of fear.

Therefore, she could understand why Kurama had done it.

Didn't mean she had to like it though.

"Fine," said Makoto through gritted teeth. "I'm still furious with you and if you ever do something like this again you're going to _wish_ you were dead but..." Makoto's voice softened as tears started to drop down her face. "I'm more happy that you're back than anything."

Kurama smiled and hugged his adopted little sister gently, letting her sob in his shoulder. He knew they were not even close to being back to the way they were before or even okay but the fact that she was willing to try and reconnect with him made him smile.

But first, he needed her help.

Kurama gently separated from her and gave her a serious look. "I would love to catch up but I need your help."

"Yasaka, right?" said Makoto, smiling at his surprised look. "Don't look so surprised. I _was_ the information specialist of our group. There was no way I wouldn't know about her kidnapping."

Kurama smiled slightly before getting serious. "That, too but I also need you to get me up to speed." At Makoto's look, he elaborated. "I've been gone for over twelve years and I imagine a lot has happened since then. I've got a Satan and the Governor General of the Grigori, not to mention about a dozen assorted reincarnated devils and an angel at the palace. I need to know the current political climate so I know how to move forward."

Makoto rose an eyebrow in surprise at him. "You? Wanting to know about politics? Are you sure you're Kurama?" Makoto stopped teasing him and got serious. "Sit down because we have a lot to go over."

So Kurama sat down as Makoto told him everything that had happened since he'd been gone.

* * *

It was close to sunset and Serafall was still waiting by the entrance of the palace for Kurama to return. The temporary leader of Kyoto had left near sunrise and had yet to return. She had been waiting, hoping to convince him to change his mind about working together to find Yasaka. If she had been taken by the Khaos Brigade, they needed to put aside their differences and join forces to get her back.

Hopefully, this would also help set the foundation for a more stable alliance between them later on.

Serafall had worked hard to try and create better relations with the various other factions over the centuries. She truly wanted to create a better future not only for her race but for her little sister.

A world where she didn't have to live in fear anymore.

Serafall perked up when she saw a familiar figure approaching and put on her best smile to try and convince Kurama to accept their help.

However, as the male kyuubi approached, Serafall started to get a bad feeling. She had seen him angry but and frankly it had scared her more than she was willing to admit. His rage was a terrifying thing to behold.

But now Kurama's face wasn't angry or even irritated at her presence but strangely blank, empty of all feeling which for some reason scared her all the more. It showed nothing as to his feelings but the closer he got, the more uneasy Serafall became. She found herself unconsciously tensing the closer he approached.

Trying to ignore her feeling of unease, Serafall gave her best smile and tried to break the ice the way she always did. "Kura-kun, how are yo-"

Serafall was abruptly cut off when Kurama's fist slammed into the wall beside her so fast that she couldn't even track its movements. She instantly froze as Kurama's furious face filled her vision.

"I want you and your fucking people out of Inner Kyoto tonight," growled Kurama, his eyes now a solid glowing crimson that sent chills up Serafall's spine. "If _any_ of you are still here come morning, I will _fucking_ send them back to you in _pieces_!"

Serafall's eyes widened at the sheer rage in Kurama's voice. She had no idea what had changed, but something had obviously happened during the day to make any goodwill toward them completely disappear. He had been willing to let them stay at the palace while they recuperated this morning but now seemed to want them gone for some reason.

"Kurama-dono, please we need to work together to get Yasaka-chan back! We can't let old hatreds prevent us from-" Serafall quickly tried to run damage control.

"OLD HATREDS?!" yelled Kurama in anger, drawing the attention of others who stopped to watch the spectacle.

"Tell me, oh wise Satan," spat Kurama angrily as he leaned over her. "Do you know what I am?" At Serafall's confused look, he continued. "You see, I'm not a pure kitsune. No, I'm a hybrid. A mix of kitsune…and _nekomata_."

Kurama grinned darkly as Serafall froze at that, paling rapidly. " _Yes._ I found out about your devils hunting of _my people. My_ family! All because of what _one_ nekoshou did and _fear_! And you want me to _work_ with you?! Work alongside a race which _hunted_ and _murdered_ members of my race on my blood father's side?! Tell me, _Levia-tan_ ," Serafall winced at the mocking in his tone. "How would you feel if I went and murdered your beloved sister?! Hmm? If I raped and killed her and put her corpse at your feet? Tell me, would you be so willing to _work together_ then?!"

Serafall's face grew cold at the threat to her sister and it took everything she had not to lash out at him, remembering that not only was he stronger than her and she was injured but that he had very good reason to be angry.

"We tried to stop the hunts but we couldn't be everywhere," tried Serafall quickly. "We can't control every devil's actions."

"No but you _can_ punish them for it," retorted Kurama with a snarl. "By punishing the ones responsible, you would have sent a message to the rest that their actions were not tolerated. Instead you just let them get away with it, unofficially saying you supported their actions and that they wouldn't be punished for them. And don't tell me you don't know exactly who was responsible. I've been back for _three days_ and I know the main culprits!"

Serafall grimaced at his words. The truth was they _did_ know the main culprits behind the unofficial hunting of the nekomata. The problem was that they were very high up, politically speaking, and trying to get them tried and punished for their hunting of the nekomata would have been futile at best. No matter how much better their race had gotten, most devils believed themselves automatically better than any other race and the idea of being punished for killing one of them unthinkable to them. It would be like hunters being prosecuted for hunting deer in their eyes and any attempt to do so would be dismissed from the courts before they could even get to trial.

"Kuram-"

"Get out," snarled Kurama. "The only reason I'm not killing you and your little group of brats and sending their heads back to the other Satans as a message of _peace_ is because my wife is still missing and right now, she's my priority. But make no mistake, Serafall Sitri," he purposefully forsook her title to show how little respect he had for her.

"There will be a reckoning for this, I _guarantee_ it." He growled darkly.

With that, Kurama entered the palace, the gathered spectators instantly moving aside to let him through, knowing he might take out his anger at them in his current state.

Serafall stayed where she was before releasing a frustrated sigh. "Dammit."

* * *

 **AN: And there's chapter 3!**

 **This chapter is actually very different from what I envisioned. At first, I wanted to put more light-hearted Kurama/Kunou moments as well as hints into Kurama's past. However, a reviewer rightly asked why is he training when he should be looking for Yasaka so I decided to show what he's doing to find her which was actually one of the things that annoyed me about the original Youkai no Bikou.**

 **I had to cut out the Kurama/Kunou bonding because it didn't really fit into the tone of the chapter which basically is showing how Kurama acclimatizing to being back, the consequences of the fight as well as his reaction to finding out about the nekomata. I also made the "hunting" of nekomata more realistic. Cats are normally solitary creatures and they don't have "packs" or anything like dogs do so I imagine nekomata would be the same. Solitary and not very social. That meant there was no village of nekomata or really anyplace where they are all together like shown in other dxd fanfictions. Therefore, it's more understandable that while a few were found and killed, most quickly realized what was happening and went underground.**

 **That still doesn't make what the devils did anymore right. This would have been similar if the Nazi in WW2 not only hunted Jews inside Germany but actually went into other countries hunting them down without even asking the countries' governments permission (before the war officially started of course). Believe me, that would have started the war (or at least gotten the US involved) A LOT sooner. So Kurama's anger is understandable. So Youkai-Devil relations are definitely not getting better anytime soon.**

 **Okay, next chapter will be up sooner. Sorry for the very long delay but real life got in the way and my girlfriend basically told me that if I neglected real life (aka her) for writing... well, it wouldn't end well for me. Lol.**

 **As a gift, here's an funny little omake.**

* * *

 **OMAKE 1: Why Kunou is Kurama's child – Exhibit A**

Yasaka was currently busy with an important council meeting so she had left her daughter under the care of the old tengu and her kitsune bodyguard (aka nanny).

Wanting for Kunou to have at least an idea of a normal childhood, the two caretakers decided to introduce her to a new board game based on the Three Kingdoms Era of China... with some added supernatural and not historically accurate features of course.

At the moment, the old tengu was playing as Wei, the kitsune nanny (bodyguard!) as Shu and a confused Kunou as Wu. It was the kitsune nanny's (you know, we still don't know her name... we'll call her Lady Shu for now) turn.

"Alright," muttered Lady Shu as she studied both the field and her cards. "Alright."She pointed at the old tengu with fire in her eyes. "Get ready, old man because your reign of terror has come to an end! Prepare your kingdom for battle!"

The old tengu (who we shall call Lord Wei) let out an uncharacteristic dark chuckle. "Bring it on, Lady Shu and I shall crush you like before."

"I play 'Secret Alliance'!" declared Lady Shu with relish, slamming said card on the table, shaking the pieces that represented their armies. "This card allows me to make a pact with another, neutral force and add their forces to my own! And I choose Yuan Shao!"

Lord Wei let out a dramatic gasp that barely hid his smirk. "No!"

"Yes!" said Lady Shu with relish. "And that's not all! I play 'Endless Cavalry'! This card turns my small cavalry into an overwhelming force that will _crush_ your puny army! Now my fearless soldiers, attack! Destroy the enemy in the name of the Han Dynasty!"

Lady Shu's cheers of victory were cut off by Lord Wei's dark chuckles. "Unfortunately, Lady Shu, you have walked right into my trap!"

"What?!" yelled Lady Shu in despair.

"'Dark Resurrection'!" yelled Lord Wei with relish. "Using dark forbidden arts, my inugami sorcerers can resurrect one special warrior from the past at the cost of sacrificing one of my units. So I sacrifice my small cavalry unit to bring back for one turn the monster of chaos, Lu Bu!"

"NO!" yelled Lady Shu in despair.

It had taken almost all her forces and an alliance with Wu to take down this monster ten turns ago and to see him returned, even if only for one turn, was horrifying for her forces.

"And I use his special ability to charge your forces, sending them scattering in disarray out of fear of the mighty Lu Bu!"

Lady Shu could only watch in horror as her forces were brutally routed and killed, leaving her once mighty allied army into little more than a small cavalry and two infantry units.

As Lady Shu wailed in despair at the loss of her 'unstoppable and fearless army', Lord Wei turned to Kunou with a small smile. "It's your turn, Kunou-hime."

During the entire game, Kunou had been sitting to the side looking extremely confused. Despite having been playing for a while, she still didn't understand the game or even the point of it, simply doing what her caretakers told her to.

"I don't understand," said the ten year old Kunou cutely. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Well," said Lord Wei patiently, ignoring Lady Shu's dramatic wails. "You are the leader of the Wu kingdom. It's your job to lead your people to prosperity which sometimes requires war. When it's your turn, you draw a card," here Lord Wei drew a card from the pack and put it in Kunou's hand.

"Now let's see here," the old tengu studied the cards in Kunou's hand and hummed in approval. "You have a quite a few good cards. First, you have 'Resourceful Raider' which allows you to take Lady Shu's lost 'Endless Cavalry'," here said fox lady let out a wail of despair, "and add it to your hand."

"Then," continued the old tengu calmly. "Here you have 'Gods' Intervention' which allows you to either strengthen your army's stats by five or increase your crop yield for the year by five. Either would be good but combined with this card, 'Morale Boost', which allows you to double your armies' stats, war is perhaps your best option at the moment."

"What does that mean?" asked a still confused Kunou.

"It means you're two turns away from conquering China," said a still distraught Lady Shu.

At this, a change seemed to overcome Kunou as she stood on top of the table and started to let out an evil cackle. "Bwa-hahahaha! Yes, fear the almighty power of my forces. Cower as they burn your villages and weep as I take your children from your very arms before I train them to obey my commands and spread my kingdom across the world. All for the greater glory of their beautiful empress-goddess, KUNOU! BWA-HAHAHAHA-MUGYUU! BWA-HAHAHAHAHA-MUGYUU!"

Both the old tengu and the fox lady sweatdropped as their princess seemed to go mad with power. In any other situation, it would be disturbing. But considering her cuteness, age and not to mention her little childish verbal tick, it was more amusing than anything.

One thing was for sure though. She was _definitely_ Lord Kurama's daughter. The old tengu remembered many such moments during the civil war with her father.

Even her little verbal tic was similar.

 _'Like father, like daughter, I guess,'_ thought Lord Wei with a sweatdrop. _'Now to bring her back to earth.'_

"Trap card," interrupted the old tengu in a deadpan tone. "Your armies have been destroyed."

Kunou seemed to freeze before wailing. "NOOOOOOO!"

When Yasaka later came and consoled her, it took everything she had not to break down laughing when she found out the reason. She was definitely Kurama's daughter.

Just another normal day in Inner Kyoto.

* * *

 **AN: Lol. Hope you liked the omake. It was based off RWBY obviously, I always liked that scene. Found it funny as hell. Almost as funny as the RWBY chibi shorts.**

 **Anyway, next chapter will hopefully not take as long to publish but depends on my med classes.**

 **As always, Read and Review!**


	5. Chapter 4

****Disclaimer:** **All publicly recognizable characters, setting, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. All other concepts and ideas from other books or stories belong to their respective authors. No copyright infringement is intended.****

* * *

 ** **Youkai Inner Capital, Kyoto, Japan****

Kurama was meditating cross-legged in a small clearing located in the palace's backyard gardens, having relocated from his private training clearing. He did this due to wanting to be closer to the palace after basically throwing out the devil diplomatic party. He had also dispelled all his training clones, not wanting an influx of memories to disturb him in his meditation.

Kurama took a deep breath before slowly exhaling, repeating this several times. Slowly, a slight breeze seemed to go through the clearing, seemingly heading toward Kurama's form. Grass and plants seemed to lean toward him as well, as if drawn to his presence, growing greener and more vibrate as they did.

Around Kurama's eyes, black markings similar to tattoos or mascara seemed to appear, these being thicker and more curved than the ones caused by Naruto's Toad-style senjutsu. At the same time, his whiskers seemed to darken and extend into lines further up his face. Behind him, his nine tails took on a softer, red-orange hue and looked almost... _fluffier_ for some reason. When he opened his eyes, his eyes had turned from their normal deep blood red into a softer red-orange with black slits through the middle. In the middle of his chest, a complex seal appeared that looked similar to the yin-yang symbol in shape.

Releasing a final breath, Kurama looked down and studied his new Sage Mode with a critical eye, noticing the differences from his old friend's Sage Mode. It was expected since he was not only in a different world but had basically self-taught himself how to enter Sage Mode. Therefore, his personal Sage Mode didn't have the "taint" of toads that Naruto's did. All in all, he was happy at the differences. He looked both more animalistic and predatory while still giving off an aura of calm and tranquility, fitting his fox-like nature since foxes are both predator and prey.

Don't get him wrong, he had been proud when his vessel turned friend became a sage, reminding him greatly of old man Hagoromo. However, the Toad-style Sage Mode always clashed with his more... _violent_ mindset. Toads were not only prey but a form of herbivore in his mind and it clashed with his more predatory mindset.

Foxes weren't total predators though but rather omnivores, and it showed in his new Sage Mode. The aura he gave off wasn't completely calm but it also wasn't one of danger that an apex predator like a tiger or a lion would give off. It was more similar to a balance between the two. Calm for now but ready for violence if necessary to defend himself.

The effects were also slightly different. While it still gave him all the benefits Toad-style Senjutsu gave him, it also increased his natural senses. He could smell and hear everything within a mile around him and could pick out the individual hairs on a butterfly one thousand feet away. This combined with the increased perceptions and energy sensing that Sage Mode gave him, now made it completely impossible for him to be snuck up on even by other senjutsu users. A very good perk if he did say so himself.

Kurama breathed out deeply as he let his Sage Mode go, making the markings and effects of it disappear, leaving him with his regular blood red eyes and no black pigmentation around his eyes. Once it finished fading, he frowned in thought as he looked down at the seal still visible on his chest.

During his impromptu training over the past three days, Kurama had come to several conclusions regarding Senjutsu in this world.

For one thing, the main difference between his version of Senjutsu and this world's version was the presence of chakra, or more specifically, the fact that only he had a chakra system. His version of using natural energy involved mixing the world's natural energy with his own chakra which created a form of chakra called "Senjutsu Chakra". This mode was called Sage Mode and had a variety of effects though the main ones are increased strength, speed, stamina, reflexes, perception and durability as well as an almost unmatched sensing ability.

In comparison, this world's version of using natural energy or Senjutsu was far different. Senjutsu users gained the ability to sense other's life-force or ki which gave them the almost unparalleled sensing ability similar to the Elemental Nation's senjutsu. However, the lack of their own chakra network or even chakra of their own meant they couldn't mix it with their own chakra to create Senjutsu chakra. This meant they did not have access to the boost in physical stats that Sage Mode gave.

On first glance, Touki gave a similar effect but in reality was far different. Touki was similar in a way to the Uzumaki's dense chakra and the effects said chakra had on their bodies. Touki users condensed their life-force to make it denser before forming an aura of their life-force around their bodies which increased their strength, speed and durability. In comparison, Uzumaki clan members already had incredible powerful and dense life-force as well as chakras which made them naturally stronger, faster and tougher than most people had a right to. If they learned how to make an aura of their chakra around them like Touki users, they would no doubt achieve a similar effect.

In reality, Touki was closer in nature and effect to a bastardized and weaker version of chakra cloaks using life-force as a base instead of a Biju or elemental chakra. This had given him an idea which he'd get into later.

Side by side, it was obvious that Sage Mode was far superior to this world's version of senjutsu. It not only naturally increased the person's physical strength, speed and durability but it also increased perception, reflexes and stamina. Furthermore, the increase was far more drastic than what Touki did. Sage Mode increased a person's strength so much that a toad less than a foot tall could lift a solid stone statue of a toad over ten feet tall and two feet across with ease. For someone like him, who was already naturally stronger than most, it made him strong enough to turn Kyoto into a crater with a single punch if he wanted.

Furthermore, Sage Mode users could turn natural energy into an invisible extension of their limbs, allowing them to invisibly extend the reach of their attacks. And since only other Senjutsu users could even sense it, it worked as a very effective way to catch people by surprise.

It could be said that Elemental Nations version was an evolution of this world's version. Rather than simply absorbing natural energy, they mixed it with their own chakra, enhancing their physical attributes alongside with giving them a incredibly strong sensing ability and the ability to inject natural energy into their attacks.

However, there was a problem with using his version in this world.

One problem was the world's hatred. He didn't know whether it was the presence of Gaia, a deity that was literally the embodiment of the natural world and therefore, the embodiment of senjutsu, or whether it was the fact that humans here abused the natural world, cutting down entire forests to make cities and lay down comparatively dead cement and metal. Whatever the reason, anyone who used senjutsu here had to deal with the world's hatred first before they could appropriately use it.

That was actually simple enough to deal with for Kurama. While he had been caught off-guard the first time due to not having expected it, he could easily deal with the world's hatred now that he knew it was coming. He had gained the ability to sense negative emotions when he became the Kyuubi Biju and was long used to receiving the hatred, fear, envy, etc. of millions of different humans at all times. So it was simple to ignore the world's hatred now that he knew to expect it every time he used senjutsu.

No. The biggest problem was in mixing natural energy with his own chakra.

In the Elemental Nations, the main source of power was chakra. Sure there were different _variations_ of chakra such as his own demonic chakra and holy chakra like that priestess Shion used. However, in the end it was all chakra so even if it spread and mixed with natural energy, it didn't adversely affect it in anyway.

Here, however, there were a multitude of different energies ranging from the light or "holy" energy of angels to devil energy to dragonic energy to yoki... you get the point.

In a way, all these energies were the evolution of the various types of chakras in the Elemental Nations. He imagined that if people stopped using chakra and relied solely on the various variations of it and given time to evolve, holy chakra would become the light energy of angels much like his own demonic chakra would become either yoki or even the energy devils used.

…... ew, he just admitted that his demonic chakra might be related to devils in some way. He made a note to take an extra hot bath today. And maybe kick a few devil babies to make himself feel better.

The problem was that these energies were far enough away, evolutionary speaking, that they were incompatible with chakra and all these energies polluted the world's natural energy. So when he drew in natural energy, he also drew in these other energies. For this world's version of senjutsu, it was no problem since all the user did was absorb it. However, when one tried to mix it with his own chakra... yeah, it was like trying to mate a human with an ape. Sure they were technically related but mixing them did _not_ end well.

For that reason, Kurama created the seal currently gracing his chest.

The seal did two main things. The first thing it did was purify any incoming natural energy of any "pollutants", leaving him with nothing but pure natural energy. Kurama could do this himself but combined with needing to stay still to absorb natural energy and how long it took to gather the appropriate amount due to the low natural energy in the world... well, it was simpler to just use the seal.

This also touched into the second function of the seal which was to work as a sort of storage seal for the natural energy. Due to the large amount of deforestation due to human expansion, there was much less natural energy in this world than what he was used to. For this reason, it took him much longer, about five minutes, to gather enough natural energy to enter Sage Mode and even then, it only lasted for about two minutes before fading.

Needless to say, this was hardly feasible during a fight.

Therefore, the seal not only passively purified incoming natural energy but also stored it for later use. The best part was that when he used the natural energy, it just recycled back into the seal, creating a near-infinite loop. Theoretically, once he had enough natural energy gathered up, he would be able to stay in Sage Mode almost indefinitely.

Of course, this would take quite a while. After all, he had to have enough natural energy to match his own chakra capacity and considering his incredibly massive reserves (large enough that if turned to electricity, he could probably power Japan for a couple of years), that would take a long time.

Not to mention, doing that had its downsides. The nearly unparalleled sensing ability came from absorbing natural energy which allowed one to know everything within the area of absorption. By creating a closed circuit so to speak, however, it cut him off from doing that, drastically limiting his sensing abilities. Of course, his natural senses made up for that lack slightly but he made a mental note to look into overcoming that weakness.

Centuries in the Elemental Nations had taught him that just because one doesn't _think_ something was that much of a weakness didn't mean it wasn't or that it couldn't be exploited. Naruto proved that hundreds of times before he even learned Sage Mode against enemies far more powerful and experienced than him.

For now, however, it would have to do and the seal had enough for him to temporarily enter Sage Mode though only for a short time, making it a last resort. This was the reason for his recreation of the form he was about to enter.

Kurama took another deep breath, calling on his demonic biju chakra and using his experiments with Touki and his experience with Naruto to shape into a familiar form.

Instantly, his body became coated in his familiar deep red biju chakra cloak, emanating from him in a way similar to flickering flames. Two flames on top of his head took the shape of horns while six magatama designs appeared around his neck while a circle design appeared over his stomach with lines extending along his body. The chakra cloak hid the clothes he was wearing making it appear as if he was wearing a crimson one piece.

Kurama opened his still blood red eyes and looked at his Incomplete Nine-Tails Chakra Mode with a critical eye.

During his training in the past three days, Kurama had come to the conclusion that he needed an ace in case his wife's kidnappers turned out to be too powerful to defeat in his base form. He could easily unleash his full power by entering what he called his Tailed Beast Chakra Mode which was basically him taking his true giant kyuubi form mixed with his Biju chakra. In that form he was easily as powerful as Ophis (though he grudgingly admitted that in a fight between them, the Ouroboros dragon would have the advantage due to her power being infinite while his, while extremely massive and near-endless, was still finite).

However, that form came with several drawbacks. For one, he was a giant. While it made it very easy for large-scale destruction, it was very inefficient against a single or even several smaller enemies. He vividly remembered that for all his superior power against Madara and Hashirama, they had still easily evaded his attempts at squashing them before sealing him away. It basically just made him a very large target for opponents skilled enough to dodge him.

Second, as he stated, that form was made for large-scale destruction and he doubted Yasaka would be happy if he destroyed Kyoto... or Japan if he let too much of his power loose.

Yeah, he should probably not enter that form unless he wanted to destroy a large country by mistake. He shuddered to think how long he'd be sent to the metaphorical couch if he destroyed Japan.

And with Sage Mode being as limited as it was, he couldn't count on that as his only ace. So when he realized the similarities between Touki and Chakra Modes, it gave him an idea.

Naruto had never been able to channel the full breadth of his power even in his prime. His Nine-Tails Chakra Modes only had a small fraction of his power but used it far more efficiently than even Kurama could. It allowed Naruto to use his Biju chakra to power his body and techniques without any of the negative side effects or being limited against smaller targets like Kurama himself.

So using Touki as a base idea, Kurama recreated his own version of the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. Much like Touki, he channeled his Biju chakra in an aura or "cloak" around him but instead of using his life-force, he used his Biju chakra. It was still incomplete as he hadn't worked out all the bugs yet. He had never had to restrict his Biju chakra before, the seal having done that when he was sealed inside Naruto. And even after undoing the seal, Naruto had known how much to draw upon due to his mastery of Sage Mode.

Kurama didn't have that so it was hit and miss at the moment. If he pushed too much of Biju chakra into the cloak, it would overload and dissipate... _explosively_. Still, it was his own chakra so it wouldn't damage him or take him too long to master. For now this would do as an ace as he compared it to Sage Mode.

Sage Mode boosted all his parameters and abilities tenfold, boosting his Satan-class power into the realm of the God-kings easily and easily making him a candidate for the Top Ten on that alone. His Tailed Beast Chakra Mode was about three times stronger than that, making about equal to Ophis in power. If necessary, he could also temporarily enter Ten-Tails form, boosting his power to easily equal Great Red though even the act of entering that form would probably cause an extinction-level event akin to the God of the Bible's Flood.

In comparison, this Incomplete Nine-Tails Chakra Cloak's boost was not as drastic. It boosted him about five times his base form's parameters putting him about equal to some of the stronger gods like Amaterasu but not equal to even the weakest God-Kings in terms of power output.

Of course, Kurama had different standards when it came to threat level compared to people in this world. Here, it was all about raw power output and damage potential. During his time in the Elemental Nation however, Kurama had learned that just because someone was stronger than someone else, didn't mean they would win. In the end, it came to a mix of tactics, techniques and power and how the wielder employed them. Basically, it boiled down to whether what you brought to the table was superior or could beat what your opponent brought to the table. In this way, even someone weaker could defeat a stronger opponent if his tactics countered and/or beat his opponent's as Naruto had proved countless times.

So while he might not be able to access his full power, to consider him less of a threat than he was with access to his full power was to court death. He had full confidence in his ability to defeat his wife's kidnappers. The only thing left to decide was how to locate them and rescue his wife.

For that reason, he hoped his little bait and trap worked soon.

Dropping his chakra cloak, Kurama sighed before standing up and stretching to get the kinks out. That done, he looked toward a group of bushes near the edge of the clearing with an amused look. "You can come out now, old man. I've known you two were there for a while now."

There a beat of silence before the bushes rustled as a slightly sheepish looking tengu came out from where he had been watching Kurama's training with the kitsune lady that usually looked after Kunou trailing along behind him.

"Kurama-dono," greeted the old tengu respectfully. He looked down to where Kurama had been meditating before looking back up at him. "Was that something you learned while you were away?"

Kurama smirked slightly and nodded. "Indeed, though that's only a small fraction of my full power. Unfortunately, releasing my full power would probably be bad for Kyoto as a whole so I've been practicing with limiting my power while still keeping it usable. What you saw is what I've managed so far. I think it will be more than enough to rescue Yasaka from whoever has kidnapped her."

The old tengu couldn't help but agree with his assessment. Even in the second, comparatively weaker, form he entered, Kurama had been strong enough to match most gods. It relieved the old tengu deeply to know Kurama-dono had this much power available since it increased the chances of rescuing Yasaka tremendously.

Speaking of...

"Kurama-dono," started the old tengu hesitantly. "I must speak to you about your banishing the Biblical Factions' envoys from the Inner Capital. Even if you dislike them, was it really correct to banish them while still leaving the Seiryetuu sealed?"

Kurama snorted in disgust. "That's his own fault, not mine. If he wasn't so weak, the seal wouldn't have affected him in such a way."

The old tengu blinked in surprise, not understanding. "I'm afraid I don't understand, Kurama-dono."

Kurama sighed before explaining patiently. "That seal is called the Five Elements Seal. It works by blocking one or two channels in the opponents energy system. Usually this only causes a disturbance in their energy flow that made it harder but not impossible to channel their energy. Tell me, what do you know about how the Evil Pieces work?"

The old tengu frowned thoughtfully. "I've been taken to understand that it changes the person physiologically from whatever species into a devil."

"Then why are youkai and other supernatural species like vampires that are resurrected still considered youkai and such only with devil attributes?" pointed out Kurama. "I've mulled it over and come to several conclusions. One, it doesn't so much change them physiologically as add a devil "core" so to speak to the subject. For supernatural beings that already use a form of energy, the being already has a set pseudo-circulatory system for the devil energy to travel so there is very little change beyond a few superficial additions."

"However," said Kurama firmly. "For humans with no already set pseudo-circulatory system for energy of any kind, it artificially recreates it within them. This is why the changes are more drastic in resurrected humans. The problem is that it isn't done all at once. As the reincarnated devil uses more and more devil energy, the pseudo-circulatory system evolves, creating more "veins" so to speak for the energy to flow. This continues until it reaches its pinnacle when they reach High-Class status which is where the artificial pseudo-circulatory system has finished and stabilized."

"This," said Kurama with relish, "is why reincarnated devils need their devil masters nearby before they reach High-Class status. With their pseudo-circulatory system still in flux, they need their master there to keep them stable or else their power will grow uncontrollably, mutating their systems and bodies into what you see in Stray Devils."

The old tengu and female kitsune were shocked at the knowledgeable if not downright _wise_ words coming from the usually brash and angry young kyuubi from their memory. For a moment, it felt as if they were in some sort of twilight zone.

Kurama snorted at the surprised looks on their faces. True, he was headstrong and not really known for introspection or brains in the past but he _had_ lived for a millennia or two in the Elemental Nations. Anyone would become smart after living that long, even a brash and hotheaded man like him.

The old tengu frowned once more. "But then... what does that have to do with Issei-dono?"

Kurama sneered in disgust. If there was one thing he despised, it was those that wasted their abilities and the brat did just that. "The Evil Piece evolves your artificial pseudo-circulatory system based on increase in _devil_ energy. But apparently the brat relies completely on his Boosted Gear and hasn't even slightly trained his devil energy or attempted to increase his devil energy reserves. Worse yet, he uses the artificial pseudo-circulatory system to channel his Boosted Gear's energies."

"Since the Evil Piece can't evolve his artificial pseudo-circulatory system due to lack of devil energy," continued Kurama, "it has instead caused his sole 'vein' of energy to _widen_ to allow more energy to go through. Something that is worse than if stayed weak."

"How so?" said the female kitsune lady in confusion. "Wouldn't wider veins mean more energy able to go through them?"

"There's a _reason_ living beings evolved a larger amount of veins over wider channels," said Kurama firmly. "It is so if one vein or artery is blocked, the blood can simply be redirected and continue to flow with only minimal disturbance while that vein or artery is unblocked. However, with Issei only having one 'vein' and with the Five Elements Seal functioning by blocking one or two energy channels..."

"... it causes Issei-dono's energy to be completely blocked since he has no other channels for the energy to flow through," finished the old tengu in understanding.

"Exactly," said Kurama with relish before snorting in disgust. "Really, all he needs to do is attempt to reach for his _devil_ energy instead of his Boosted Gear's and he could maybe forcibly create a new channel for the energy to flow through, bypassing the seal completely. It would help him in the long run since channels can only become so wide before doing more damage than good."

The old tengu nodded in understanding before speaking hesitantly. "Still... shouldn't rescuing Yasaka be our first priority?"

Kurama had a blank look on his face as he answered crisply. "It _is_ my first priority."

The old tengu winced slightly at his tone. Kurama may have been gone for over twelve years but he still recognized the warning hidden in his tone but soldiered on anyway. "Then wouldn't their help be a boon in locating her? Certainly that should be more important than teaching the young Red Dragon Emperor a lesson."

Kurama was quiet for a moment as he studied the old tengu, making the latter think he had overstepped his bounds before the former spoke.

"Old man," said Kurama quietly. "How was my wife kidnapped?" When the old tengu looked confused, he continued. "I don't mean the specifics. I mean how could her kidnappers have known where she was, specifically, that she was on her way to a meeting?" Seeing the realization dawning on his face, Kurama smiled grimly. "Exactly. Someone must have tipped them off about the upcoming meeting. Now I've managed to clear everyone on our side who knew of the meeting beforehand which only leaves people on the other side of the meeting as well as anyone who may have found out with spies among us. So while I may have cleared spies on our side, Yasaka's kidnappers may have spies among the _devils'_ party and any plans we might make would instantly be known to her kidnappers."

The old tengu looked up at Kurama in surprise. "So the reason you banished them was to prevent the enemy from getting anymore inside information on our plans?"

"That," confirmed Kurama with a shrug before smiling viciously. "And I really _was_ furious with the devils. It took everything I had to refrain from _hunting_ them just like they hunted my biological father's people. See how they like it. Luckily, Yasaka is my first priority and starting a war with the Underworld would delay that rescue quite a bit. However," here Kurama's smile became positively vicious, sending a chill down the old tengu and the female kitsune's spines, "once my wife is safe, I foresee quite a bit of deaths in the devils' future."

Oh yes, there would definitely be a reckoning coming to those arrogant little shit stains in the future and he looked forward to handing it out _personally._

Kurama started to walk out of the clearing when he stopped and turned back to them. "By the way, have you done what I asked?"

The old tengu shook himself out of his stupor and turned his hopefully-temporary leader. "Yes, Kurama-dono. The council has been contacted and a meeting is scheduled for the day after tomorrow at noon."

"Good," said Kurama crisply. "And the generals?"

"Should be here sometime tomorrow, Kurama-dono," confirmed the kitsune lady, speaking for the first time today. "Hiei-dono should actually be here sometime today, in fact."

Kurama smirked knowingly before looking at the kitsune lady in confusion. "Wait, shouldn't you be with Kunou in lessons right now?"

The two youkai looked uncomfortable before the kitsune lady spoke hesitantly. "Kunou-hime seems to have skipped her lessons today since she never arrived. She does this from time to time and we know she's still in the palace due to your lockdown, Kurama-dono, but we can't find her."

"We were hoping," said the old tengu slowly. "That you would know where she might be considering she is your daughter, Kurama-dono."

"She's not my daughter," retorted Kurama quickly and firmly.

The old tengu frowned heavily at his words, knowing how much they would hurt the young princess if she heard them. "Kurama-dono, I assure you that she is. Yasaka-hime has never been with another man-"

"You don't understand," said Kurama softly as he turned his back on them. "She's not my daughter... she can't be."

The old tengu and the kitsune lady shared a confused look. "What do you mean, Kurama-dono?" said the kitsune lady hesitantly.

"Because if she _was_ my daughter," said Kurama softly. "It means I not only abandoned my _pregnant_ wife but also my daughter. It means I missed her birth... her first words... her first steps... everything, due to my own selfish desire for power. And I don't think I could take that knowledge. So she _can't_ be my daughter."

It was bad enough living with the guilt that he had apparently abandoned Yasaka for over twelve years instead of the, at most, month that old man Hagoromo had promised. But the idea that he also missed his own daughter's childhood almost completely... no, he didn't think he could live with himself if that was true. So he told himself she wasn't his daughter. That his wife had been unfaithful. That she was another man's child. While painful to contemplate, it didn't hurt half as much as the idea that he had abandoned his own child and completely missed her childhood.

That he was no better, nay _worse_ , than his own _father_.

The old tengu's face softened at Kurama's words as understanding filled him. He was one of the few with a rough idea as to Kurama's childhood as well as his _relationship_ with his parents. To say it complicated was understating it. Kurama-dono's father hadn't been particularly kind to him when he had thought Kurama was his own son.

He vividly remembered a young Kurama coming to him for healing from wounds he easily recognized to have come from especially harsh whippings. Even when pressed, the young Kurama had refused to tell him where he got them from, though the old tengu could easily guess even then.

The old man hadn't been around when the revelation of Kurama not being his father's child had come to light. Despite that, he could imagine how the arrogant elder male kitsune had reacted and well remembered the end result. A fire at their place of residence, the elder male kitsune's body found among the wreckage with the two young children, only seventeen and fifteen at the time, having disappeared and their mother refusing to explain what happened before disappearing herself.

No one had heard anything from any of them until decades later when Kurama had shown up to lead the revolution that eventually toppled Yasaka's father's tyrannical reign and installed Yasaka as queen.

Though he had heard rumors, especially about what happened to Kurama's elder sister. His detractors said he had killed her himself though the elder tengu knew that to pure lies. He well remembered how much the young Kurama utterly adored his sister and knew that Kurama would never have laid a hand on her.

However... there had been other rumors about her fate that he gave more credence too. To be constantly beaten by one's father for being 'weak' only to later fail to protect the one person they loved above all as they were killed right in front of them... well, it would explain how the young and innocent Kurama had turned into the power-hungry and vicious man he returned as.

So to hear that he not only abandoned his wife for years but also unknowingly abandoned his own child would no doubt be a hard pill for him to swallow considering his own past in regards to his family.

Still...

"Kurama-dono," said the old tengu firmly, knowing this might anger the stronger youkai but knowing it needed to be said. "Whether you accept it or not won't change the past. She _is_ your daughter. The only thing you need to ask yourself is whether you're willing to hurt your daughter more with your refusal instead of owning up to your mistakes."

Both weaker youkai stiffened as a flash of rage crossed the stronger kitsune hybrid's face before what looked like resignation took its place. Kurama turned his back on them once more before responding in a shaky tone. "I see now... why my wife keeps you around despite your age. You give good counsel... even when someone doesn't wish to hear it. I'll take your words under advisement."

And with that, Kurama strode out of the clearing, leaving two relieved youkai behind.

* * *

Kurama wandered through the large gardens of the palace, lost in thought.

He had never actually given any thought to fatherhood before leaving for the Elemental Nations or even after. Well, at least never fatherhood in regards to _him_ being the father.

His own relationship with his father had been complicated to say the least. He was a man that only ever respected strength and power, considering things like compassion and kindness as weaknesses. He would constantly beat a young Kurama every time he failed to meet his lofty standards or for doing things that he considered weak. He excused his actions by stating he was trying to make Kurama strong but in the end, all Kurama had ever known from his father was disdain and violence.

Even his thin excuse of trying to make Kurama strong evaporated once he found out that Kurama wasn't his son by blood. Kurama would never forget the heartbreak he felt when the man he thought was his father actively tried to kill him to wipe the "stain" of his existence from his pride.

All in all, his own father was not someone he wanted to emulate in regards to his own children. His biological father was a mystery to Kurama, not even knowing his name much less who he was as a person. His mother obviously never spoke of him and he never asked before running away from the only place he called home all those years ago.

The only possible example of a good father he had was possibly old man Hagoromo. Unfortunately, he had died so soon after his "birth" that he only had a short time with him before he passed away. Still, the old man had been kind and loving to them despite them not actually being his children. It was actually a startling contrast to his own father as to be extremely jarring. The old man had known they weren't his children from the start but had loved them as if they were his own. The impression had been so strong that all the biju still called him "father" even millennia later. He had long decided that if he was going to be a father, he would try and emulate the old man instead of his absent biological father or his abusive stepfather.

Of course, all this did very little in helping him decide what exactly to do regarding his uncertain (in his mind) connection to Kunou. It didn't take a genius to see the physical similarities between them even if Kurama tried to purposefully ignore them. All evidence pointed to her actually being his daughter.

But this meant he had become similar to his biological father, someone Kurama had definite mixed feelings about. On one hand, Kurama had at one point desperately wanted to know everything about him. But later, he came to hate the absent man for abandoning him to the abuse and disdain of his stepfather, vowing never to do the same to his own children.

But it seemed like fate was still a bitch in the end because apparently that was exactly what he ended up doing.

Kurama was brought out of his thoughts by the smell of smoke. He sniffed slightly as he realized that it was coming from exactly where he was heading. He heard the sound of someone yelling in frustration, telling him the small training ground he was heading toward was occupied. Pushing through the bushes quietly so as to not alert it's occupant, Kurama walked into the small training ground.

Kurama was both surprised and not to find Kunou to be the source of both the burning and the yelling. She seemed to be trying to create kitsune fire and managed to create a spark or two and even sometimes a small candle-like flame. However, when she tried to throw it as an attack it either fizzled out or outright became a puff of smoke, causing her to yell and puff up her cheeks in frustration.

The elder kitsune-nekomata hybrid couldn't help but smile nostalgically at the extremely familiar sight. Except before it had been him yelling in frustration as he tried and failed to conjure kitsune fire in this very training ground. He had been trying to master it in order to hopefully impress and please his father (a fool's errand in hindsight since nothing ever truly pleased him) only for Yasaka to walk in on his attempts.

A fond smile crossed Kurama's face as he remembered his and Yasaka's first meeting. He had been too embarrassed and shy to accept help at first, especially from the princess of all people. However, she had eventually convinced him and the two had spent the day together with Yasaka teaching him how to conjure kitsune fire by the end of it. It had been that first meeting that set the foundation of their future relationship, from friendship to love to eventual marriage.

 _'And maybe,'_ said a small voice in the back of his head, _'to becoming parents.'_

Kurama was brought out of his thoughts when it seemed Kunou was seconds away from a childish fit that very much resembled him at his most frustrated when he was a child.

A smile still on his lips, Kurama silently walked up behind the frustrated girl. "So what are you doing?"

"Eeeeep!" Kunou turned around in surprise so quickly that she tripped over her tails and fell flat on her cute little face.

It took everything Kurama had not to break out laughing at the admittedly adorable sight. She had definitely inherited her mother's grace as a child. He remembered many a time when Yasaka would trip over her own tails when surprised or in a hurry.

It had been hilarious.

Kunou gave a cute groan of pain and rubbed her behind before looking up to see him standing there, looking amused. Yelping slightly, she quickly scrambled back to her feet where she stood before him looking down at her feet with occasional glances up at him. Adding in the fact that she was scuffing her right foot against the floor shyly and she looked like the picture perfect definition of a little girl caught doing something she wasn't supposed to.

Kurama chuckled a bit before looking up toward the training dummy that seemed to be the target for Kunou's attempts at making kitsune-bi. Other than a few very small scorch marks, it looked basically untouched, highlighting Kunou's failure at summoning the kitsune's signature flames.

Looking back down at the girl who was still scuffing the floor lightly, Kurama spoke softly. "Trying to summon kitsune-bi, I see?"

Kunou nodded shyly, glad he didn't seem mad at her for skipping her lessons. With her mother still missing, she simply couldn't sit there as if everything was normal so she came here in a childish attempt to become strong enough to rescue her mother herself. She knew it was impossible but it was better than listening to boring history.

Kurama could almost see the thoughts running through the young kitsune's head. They were so similar to another young kitsune that it hurt. All the denials he'd built up in his head were crumbling the more time he spent with Kunou yet he couldn't stay away. The old tengu's words echoed in his ears. If she was... did he really want to waste more time away from her simply out of guilt?

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Kurama looked down at the young kitsune thoughtfully before coming to a decision. "Want help?" At Kunou's surprised and confused look, he elaborated. "At learning how to cast kitsune-bi? I had a lot of trouble with it at first too."

"R-Really?" asked Kunou in surprise. "But kaa-san said you were the best fire user she ever met!"

In fact, her mother had compared his skill with fire on the same level as Amaterasu-sama. The only thing holding him back had been raw power, something he had obviously gained in his time away.

Kurama smirked proudly at the praise. "Maybe but I wasn't always. I was actually pretty bad at it at first. I just worked at it day after day until I became better than everyone else. It shows that hard work is sometimes superior to natural talent."

He had seen it many times in his long life. Genuises tended to have a head start but burned out way too quickly. A good example had been people like Hatake Kakashi and that Uchiha brat, Sasuke. They had been top of their class at the beginning but eventually burned out until events forced them to become stronger. For the former, he had stayed the same level of power for over a decade until the threat of the Akatsuki, a group of ten S-class criminals, forced him to train himself. And by then, he had wasted so much time that his progress became glacial. For the Uchiha, he had trained under Orochimaru for three years yet in the end Naruto, the dead last of his class, surpassed him in power through sheer guts and determination.

In the end, blood and talent might give you a head start but nothing more than that. It was your will and determination that decided how far you went.

For that reason, Kunou training was a good thing. She no doubt inherited her mother's natural talent due to her pure blood and would eventually be able to cast kitsune-bi if she simply waited. But by combining that with training, she would no doubt surpass her mother by quite a margin once she fully matured.

Kurama looked down at the cute, wide-eyed young kitsune girl with a soft smile. "So want me to help you?"

Kunou nodded her head with a large smile, a happy feeling filling her at spending more time with her tou-san even if he didn't like her calling him that for some reason.

"Ok then," said Kurama with a smile before getting serious. "First, what are thinking of when you try and summon kitsune-bi?"

"Thinking of?" asked Kunou so cutely that if Kurama was a lesser man, he would have squealed at the adorable. "Um... of fire?"

Kurama chuckled at the innocent reply. "I mean, what are you feeling when you summon it? I imagine you get angry and frustrated when you fail, right?" At Kunou's hesitant nod, he gave a reassuring smile. "That's actually normal and part of the reason most kitsune can't really summon kitsune-bi until they're older. Anger and emotions like that actually make it harder to summon rather than easier."

"But," said Kunou with a cute frown. "My teachers told me that strong emotion like anger can help me summon kitsune fire easier."

"Your teachers are idiots," said Kurama dryly, internally making a note to fire those idiots before they ruin Kunou's education even further. "It's _technically_ true that anger and hate can make summoning kitsune-bi easier. However, it also takes a lot more energy to cast using anger and at your age, your power isn't mature enough to use that much energy at once."

It could actually be dangerous for her to use too much energy at her age so that was yet another reason to fire those idiots.

"So," asked a now completely confused Kunou. "What do I do?"

Kurama kneeled down so he was face to face with the young girl. "Ironically, in order to control fire, you can't be angry. Anger just makes it suck up your energy and go out of control. In order to control kitsune fire, you have to think of the opposite of anger... love."

Kurama put his hand in front of him and made a cupping motion before gently exhaling. Kunou gasped when a small golden flame appeared in his palm, flickering merrily with no sign of going out of control or even leaving his hand. "Power can be gained with time. But first you must learn control. Once you have control, you can do things like this." Kurama slowly manipulated the fire in his hands like a living thing, making shapes like triangles and perfect circles up to actual miniature animals made of flames that ran around his palm without burning him. He let this go on for a while before closing his hand into a fist, smothering the flames without a hint of effort.

Kunou looked at wonder at the demonstration of control. After all, conjuring kitsune fire was one thing. To have such utter control of the flames that he treat them similar to the way angels, fallen and not, used light was another thing entirely. She'd never heard of someone use fire like that before.

"So," said Kurama, snapping Kunou out of her shock at the display of control. "First, we need to get your control up. We'll worry about big gouts of fire later. For now, close your eyes and think of something you love."

Kunou did as she was told and closed her eyes but had trouble thinking of something specific. "Like what, tou-, uh, Kurama-san?"

Kurama ignored the near slip and especially the warmth it caused him and explained. "Think of the happiest memory you have. Something that makes you feel all warm and happy inside. Maybe a memory of spending time with your mother."

Kunou tried to do as he told her and thought of several memories of her mother that did make her happy. However, she eventually settled on one memory in specific that filled her with warmth and happiness just remembering it.

Kurama saw the small smile grow on Kunou's face and knew she had the correct memory. "Now, with that memory in mind, channel your energy into your palm and think of fire. However, instead of thinking of fire burning, think of it... like a fireplace's fire. Giving light to the room but not burning or hurting anything."

Kunou scrunched up her face as she tried to do as she was told. A few minutes passed with nothing happening when suddenly a small spark appeared in Kunou's hand before snuffing out. However, Kunou had seen it and gasped before smiling widely and trying again with Kurama's encouragement. This time the spark turned into a small, almost unnoticeable flame that hovered over her palm for a few seconds before snuffing out again. Third time was the charm as this time the small flame stayed hovering over her palm even if it took Kunou quite a bit of energy to keep it from snuffing out.

"I did it!" yelled Kunou happily before pouting when the flame snuffed out again.

Kurama smiled and couldn't help the pride filling his chest at the sight. It might not seem like much but making any kitsune-bi at her age was quite an achievement and a good sign of her natural talent.

"What did you think of when you made the flame, Kunou?" asked Kurama curiously. It had to be a particularly important memory to invoke enough emotion to allow her to summon kitsune-bi without using too much energy.

Kunou looked down shyly before mumbling something he couldn't make out.

"What was that?" asked Kurama in confusion.

Kunou took a deep breath before answering. "I was thinking... of after your fight with Issei-kun and the others. When you carried me away and how safe and happy I felt."

Kurama looked stricken at the confession as a complicated look crossed his face before he smiled ruefully. It was decidedly ironic since the memory he first used to conjure kitsune-bi had been about the one family member who always loved him, his sister.

Maybe it runs in the family...

Kurama shook his head at the thought and gave Kunou a complicated look before seemingly coming to a decision. "So how's your hand to hand combat coming along?"

Kunou looked confused at his question. "Um, my teachers don't really teach me that. They focus more on using kitsune-bi and other stuff."

Kurama frowned at the reminder at another difference between this world and the Elemental Nations. Here, power was everything and so everyone focused on gaining to almost the complete exclusion of everything else. While there were speed and technique type fighters, they were almost all considered inferior to power types. The fact that the top three strongest existences were all about power only reinforced this.

For that reason, no doubt Kunou's tutors were focusing on increasing her raw power without regard to anything else. On one hand it was important since if Kunou was going to take control of the leylines someday, she needed enough raw power of her own to handle it. On the other, it would make her grossly overspecialized and easy to take down if one plans accordingly.

No doubt how they took down her mother.

Let's fix that, shall we?

"Well," said Kurama firmly. "That's going to change right now. I'm going to teach you the basics of a fighting style so you have something to defend yourself other than your youjutsu."

Kunou smiled happily at the idea of spending more time with her tou-san and her tails wiggled in excitement. "Okay, tou-san. What do we do first?"

"First, get down and give me one thousand push-ups followed by one thousand sit-ups," said Kurama firmly much to Kunou's growing horror. "Once that warm-up is done, we'll get down to the real training." Kurama frowned as Kunou only stared at him in shock. "Well?! Get to it!"

That brought Kunou out of her shock and she quickly started to do push-ups as commanded. Kurama smirked as he looked forward to tor- _training_ the young kitsune.

It promised future amusement if nothing else.

* * *

Not long after the sun had set, Kurama was carrying a tired Kunou back to her room, ignoring the smiles and whispers of the maids and other help who saw the cute sight.

As they reached Kunou's room, Kurama looked down at the napping kitsune girl with a small proud smile. While he hadn't expected her to finish the exercises, that hadn't been the point. He had simply wanted to see her current physical condition so he knew what he had to work on.

She had actually done better than he expected. And while he knew part of that was due to her inherited power and status as a kyuubi kitsune, it was still an impressive feat to have gone as far as she had, especially at her age. He already had plans on how to help her get even stronger and even had a fighting style she could use in mind.

Kurama had to do some maneuvering but eventually managed to get the door to Kunou's room open. He stepped into the room, being careful not to jostle the exhausted and sleeping Kunou too much, and gently laid the sleeping Kunou onto her bed.

Looking down on the sleeping kitsune with a gentle look on his face, Kurama carefully pulled the sheets over her. He looked at her for a second before starting to walk out of the room, only to stop when he heard Kunou's voice.

"Tou-san," Kurama turned to see that Kunou was still asleep and apparently having a nightmare of some kind. "Tou-san, don't leave me."

Kurama was instantly kneeling at Kunou's bedside, making comforting noises and rubbing Kunou's head while taking her little hand in his. "It's okay, Kunou. I'm here. Tou-san's here. I promise you, I'm not going anywhere."

Kunou whimpered a bit more before her face cleared and a small smile crossed her face before she drifted off to a deeper sleep.

Kurama stayed holding her hand for a few moments more, his right hand still caressing her cute little cheeks, emotions he had never felt before bubbling within him.

"I wish," started Kurama brokenly before gulping. "When we first met, I really hoped that you were mine, Kunou. Any father would be proud to have such a cute, strong girl like you as his daughter. I know I was. So young yet taking the responsibility of ruling in your mother's absence. She would be so proud. But," Kurama smiled self-deprecatingly, "that's why I couldn't believe that you're mine. How can something so beautiful, so _perfect_ , come from a man like me." A broken, guilty look crossed his face. "A monster... like me."

Kurama quieted before speaking lowly once more. "But seeing you today... working so hard to get stronger... to save your mother. You really _are_ mine aren't you? The same stubborn determination and pride. It was easy to recognize now that I let myself see it." A sad look came to Kurama's face. "I just want you to know... that if I knew about you before... I would have _never_ left. Not for all the power in the universe. I would have stayed... for _you_." Kurama smiled sadly before his face hardened. But I want you to know. I will _never_ leave you or your mother again. I'll save your mother and we'll be a family... like we should have always been."

His piece said, Kurama laid gentle kiss on Kunou's sleeping forehead before quietly leaving the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

Out in the hallway, Kurama looked at the doorway to Kunou's room for a second before speaking. "How long are you going to hide up there, Hiei?"

There was a rustle of clothing before a figure landed behind Kurama, who turned around to face the new figure.

The figure revealed itself to be a short man around 4'10" in height with spiky black hair with blue outlining and white streaks. Despite his short stature, it was easy to see he had a lean, muscular build through his long black cloak-like jacket (with a white collar) with pale blue undershirt and black pants tucked into black boots. His eyes were blood red with an angular and slightly slanted shape giving a slightly sinister look.

The most unique part of him was the white headband covering his forehead which Kurama knew covered his Jagan eye and the dragon tattoo covering the entirety of his right arm.

This was Hiei, one of the Four Generals of the Japanese Youkai Army as well as Kurama's closest friend.

Kurama cocked an eyebrow at his old friend. "Were you planning on following me around all day or were you going to reveal yourself eventually?"

Hiei smirked. "I see you've gotten better at sensing things around you. How long have you known I was following you?"

It was a show of just how close the two were that they fell back into old banter despite not seeing each other for over a decade. There was no questions about where he had been or even why he had left (something he knew he would get from Yasaka once he rescued her). No, Hiei trusted that whatever reason he left was important to him and his not bringing it up was his way of saying he was glad he was back.

"Since you arrived this morning," said Kurama dryly as they started to walk down the hallway toward the living room. "By the way, you watching me while I was meditating in the clearing was creepy as fuck. I went there so we could talk in private, not for you to masturbate to my half-naked torso."

"Fuck you," retorted Hiei smoothly. "I was just trying to see how much stronger you've gotten in your time away." He eyed Kurama out of the corner of his eye with a hint of battlelust in them. "I'm glad to see that you've gotten a lot stronger."

Kurama smirked as he walked toward a nearby cabinet. "Did you expect anything less?"

Kurama opened the cabinet only to step back in shock. "What th-!? Where's my sake?!"

The old tengu seemed to appear from nowhere at his call. "May I help you, sir?"

"Where's all my sake, old man?!" asked a visibly distraught Kurama. "This was my sake cabinet but now it's empty except for... are these kids' movies?!"

"Indeed," said the old tengu easily. "As you can imagine, the sake already there eventually expired and Lady Yasaka decided that having alcohol within reach of a child was a bad idea to say the least. And since she hardly indulged even before becoming a mother, she saw no reason to keep it so she threw it out and stopped buying anymore except for special occasions."

Kurama looked as if he had been stabbed in the heart, so stricken he looked at the news. "B-But... my _sake_. She knew how much I loved my sake. Why'd she throw it out?!"

He completely ignored the fact that the sake already there would have expired long ago and buying more only to throw it out later would have been foolish.

The old tengu gave him a dry look. "I cannot imagine Kurama-dono but it perhaps has to do with the fact that the one who drank it most often abandoned her to raise their child alone."

Kurama froze before pouting. "Touche." He sighed deeply and gave the old tengu a pleading look. "Is there anything else to drink around here?"

The old tengu cocked an eyebrow at the man. "We have some wine in the cellar."

Kurama gave a disgusted look. " _Wine?!_ Wine is for pussies not man enough to handle real drink like old men or devils. Is there anything else?"

"There's apple juice, if you wish," said the old tengu dryly though with the faintest hint of humor. "It is Lady Kunou's favorite."

Hiei rolled his eyes as Kurama started to cry crocodile tears in the corner, a small cloud of depression hovering over him. "Thankfully, I foresaw this and brought something myself." With that, Hiei pulled out two medium-sized sake jars from... somewhere and laid it on the table.

Instantly, Kurama came out of his depression and seemingly teleported to the table, a happy smile on his face. "Sake!"

Hiei rolled his eyes and turned to the old tengu. "Can you bring us some sake cups, please?"

The old tengu nodded and went to do so. Once he returned with the cups, Kurama happily filled both sake cups... before starting to drink directly from the jar. He stopped drinking for a moment and turned to Hiei with a serious look on his face. "Those two cups is your portion so you better cherish them."

Hiei just rolled his eyes once more, having expected this. Luckily, he wasn't much of a drinker anyway.

The old tengu stopped at the door. "Remember to put it all away where Lady Kunou won't find it afterwards, Kurama-dono."

Kurama just waved him off, showing that he'd heard him. Once the old tengu had left and Kurama had seemingly slowed down from his drinking, Hiei spoke.

"So," said Hiei slowly, knowing the next subject would be touchy. "Kunou... you're sure that she's yours?"

Kurama froze at that and slowly put his sake cup down. "Yasaka has never cheated me or even looked at another man before so I have no reason to suspect she did so soon after I left. Plus, the timeline fits and everyone assures me that Yasaka was never with another man. Why? Do you know different?"

"No," said Hiei easily, ignoring the tension coming from his friend. "As far as I know, she has not been with any other man despite plenty offering including that Governor of the Fallen Angels." He ignored the burst of killer intent coming from his friend, internally smiling at the promised future beatdown of the perverted Fallen. "I just don't want you to grow attached to her and then find out later that she isn't yours. I know how badly you would take that."

Kurama just looked at his friend for a moment before ignoring the jar and drinking from the sake cup slowly. "I considered that. It's why I acted the way I did when I first met her. I didn't want to risk becoming attached to her and treating her like my daughter only to find out she isn't and my wife had given her heart to another."

"What changed?" asked Hiei curiously.

Kurama smiled bitterly. "I recalled my father." Kurama's face darkened at old memories he wished he could forget. "He held me in contempt from the moment I was born. And that was before he even knew I wasn't his son by blood. I remember spending my entire childhood trying to please him just to receive one kind word from him." Kurama turned and gave Hiei a fierce look. "Whether or not Kunou is not my daughter by blood is not her fault and I refuse to do to her what was done to me." Kurama's smile twisted and he raised his glass to his friend. "What our fathers did to _us_."

Hiei fell silent at that and inclined his head in understanding. "Fair enough. So why did you ask me to come here before the others?"

Kurama leaned forward on the couch and slammed his left hand onto the floor. Instantly, a large seal matrix covered the entire room, turning both the doorways and windows black as a sign that a privacy seal was in effect.

Hiei just cocked an eyebrow at that, trusting his old friend enough that he didn't even consider the idea of this being a trap, just curious as to where he learned to do it.

Seeing that the seal was in effect, Kurama turned to Hiei with a serious look on his face. "Do you remember that project I asked you to do before I left?" At Hiei's nod, Kurama continued. "Did you go through with it?"

"Yes," said Hiei simply. "Though we have less than expected since I didn't have your backing and had to do it behind Yasaka's back. But we have a few dozen elite and about a hundred more competent ones. They're not especially strong but then again, open combat was never what they were meant for."

"True enough," said Kurama quietly as he mulled something over. "Send your elite over to a location I'll give you and I'll sharpen their training with things I've learned while away. Once I'm convinced they're ready, I have a few missions for them."

Hiei cocked an eyebrow and took a paper that Kurama passed over to him, looking it over with a critical eye. "And these are?"

"The main culprits behind the nekomata hunts," said Kurama with an angry growl. "I got it from Makoto who had investigating into it ever since the Kuroka incident."

Hiei nodded absently as he looked the list over. "And what do these marks mean?"

"One mark means death," said Kurama easily. "Two marks means torture _then_ death and three marks means I want them utterly destroyed." Kurama eyes glowed red as a sign of his rage as he snarled. "I don't want them just dead, I want their reputations in ruins, their family line extinct with their women and children paupers on the streets forced to whore themselves out for a decent meal!"

Hiei smirked at his friend's rage, agreeing with it wholeheartedly though he did have to point something out. "Some of these, in fact _most_ of these targets are pretty high-up both in the Underworld and in our government. Taking them out without leaving a trace may be difficult."

"Which is why I'm going to train your elites further," said Kurama as he calmed down and leaned back into the couch. "I'll teach them things that will allow them to bypass any and all security those arrogant bastards may have."

Hiei nodded his understanding before pointing something else out. "And what about the Satans?"

"What about them?" asked Kurama dismissively.

Hiei just cocked an eyebrow at his friend's dismissive tone. "Some of these are high-class devils and heirs or at the least children of the Pillar houses if not the lords themselves. They probably won't take the murder of so many pureblood devils well."

"If they were in any way effective leaders this wouldn't even be necessary," snarled Kurama. "I'm not asking that they be omniscient or anything, however there is mountains of proof as to these peoples crimes against not only the nekomata but dozens of others. The only reason they've gotten away with it was because the victims weren't devils and so they turned a blind eye. If they actually done their job and arrested them for their crimes, I would be content. But no, because of their position and "pure blood", they turned a blind eye and expect us to do the same. Well, if they won't punish then I will. And my punishment will be much more _permanent_."

"And if they make an issue of it?" asked Hiei, getting to the point.

"Then I'll kill them," said Kurama with a shrug. "Publicly and in front of their families to set an example of what happens to those that challenge me."

Hiei sent him a hard look. "You sound an awful lot like Yasaka's father."

Kurama returned his look with a hard done of his own. "The difference is that I'm not killing them for some imagined slight or because I feel like it. I'm also not limiting it to only devils since just as many of our people helped in the hunt in order to get rid of the nekomata as a political rival. No, I'm doing this because the current Satans are cowards who hide behind wanting to keep the peace to avoid making the hard choices. A leader isn't just a symbol but also a judge and jury. When your people step out of line, it's up to you to punish them. If you don't then they will continue to do so until eventually they go too far. My ordering these people's deaths isn't just about _revenge_. It's about sending a message that devils are _not_ allowed to do whatever they want. That they do _not_ rule over us and that they're laws don't apply to us."

"Furthermore," continued Kurama firmly. "It's to reassure our people that we _will_ defend them when necessary. Yasaka spends so much time holed up in the palace that she's lost touch with the common people. Sure, they may love her for how she's improved their lives but after her lack of reaction for the hunting of nekomata, they no longer trust her to protect them. An entire race was hunted down and she didn't say a word. How can they trust her to protect them if she allows that to happen?"

Hiei nodded his agreement. It was one of the many reasons none of the generals listen to Yasaka in the slightest. They had always considered her weak due to not being a soldier and being raised in basic luxury but respected her enough due to being Kurama's wife and doing as she promised and bettering the lives of the lower-class.

However, Kurama's disappearance had strained things and her blind eye to the nekomata hunting was the straw that broke the camel's back. Nowadays, him and the other generals completely ignored any and all orders from Yasaka and ruled their respective territories similar to shoguns in the 1300s. They proved they would protect their people first when they executed a group of Fallen who raped a group of female youkai two years ago. For this reason, many youkai not located in the capital moved to their territories where they could be sure that would be protected.

"I understand," said Hiei.

Kurama nodded before he frowned slightly. "Did you keep tabs on any surviving nekomata?" When Hiei nodded in confirmation, Kurama continued. "Then offer them an olive branch. Tell them you'll protect them and tell them I've returned to back it up. See about integrating as much of them into the group as possible. Nekomata have a natural inclination for this sort of thing so they'll be good recruits."

"Understood," said Hiei. "So what are your plans for rescuing Yasaka?"

Kurama smirked. "Oh, my plan is already in motion."

* * *

Issei felt helpless as he watched his friends and fellow peerage members engage the now-identified Hero Faction as he stood uselessly on the sidelines. Without his Sacred Gear or even Evil Piece enhancements, he was little better than a normal human. And unlike his enemies, he had little to no training in how to defend himself against beings stronger than him.

Before this, he would have never have believed a human could match a devil or angel in combat. But seeing how the leader seemed to be matching Azazel while the others were easily beating his fellow peerage members.

It definitely changed his worldview.

Issei was brought out of his musings when the big one, Heracles he thought he was called, showed up in front of him and threw a punch that glowed with the power of his Sacred Gear.

"Say goodnight, devil scum!" yelled the brute excitedly.

Issei could only close his eyes, cross his arms and wait for the punch that he knew would crush every bone in his body.

Because his eyes were closed he never saw the red glow from beneath his shirt or the red flash that showed up after that.

But he did hear the sound of flesh smacking against flesh in front of him as well as feel a displacement of air passing by him.

Realizing he wasn't a smear on the pavement for some reason Issei opened his eyes and saw the back of a familiar man standing in front of him easily holding Heracles' punch back with one hand.

"Hi," said Kurama with glowing red eyes and a nasty smile as he tightened his grip on Heracles fist. "I'm Kurama. I hear you have something of mine."

* * *

 ** **AN: And there's chapter 4!... at last, lol.****

 ** **Sorry for the extremely long wait. But life got crazy then I went on a cruise and then came back and classes... well, this is why I don't like setting dates for the next chapter. Life gets in the way.****

 ** **I would like to thanks everyone who sent me supportive PMs when I was having writer's block but especially**** **elmoryakhan** ** **who has been listening to my blocks and crazy story ideas and helping me work through them. Thanks for the help, man!****

 ** **I promised this to a reviewer the chapter before last so here's the comparison between Naruto rankings and Dxd world rankings.****

 ** **Rankings****

 ** **Low-class devils = Genin to low Chunin-class shinobi****

 ** **Mid-class devil = Chunin to low Special Jounin-class shinobi****

 ** **High-class devil = Special Jounin to Jounin-class shinobi****

 ** **Ultimate-class devil = Elite Jounin****

 ** **Satan-class devil = low-class Sannin [S-class]****

 ** **God-class = Kage [SS-class]****

 ** **Super Devil = Legends/Gods of Shinobi and Biju (one tails through five) [ex. Hashirama and Madara]****

 ** **Top Five Strongest Existences (besides Ophis) = Biju (six tails to eight tails) and Yin**** ** _ **or**_** ** **Yang Kurama****

 ** **Ophis = Kurama (full power)****

 ** **Now, when I say they can equal them, I don't mean in raw power. Someone like Kakashi will never have the raw power to match a Satan like Serafall. However, in terms of skills and abilities, I can easily see Kakashi matching or even surpassing someone like Serafall or Azazel. Remember, shinobi are more like high-caliber sniper rifles. They don't have the same raw destructive power of say, a cannon or bomb, but they can just as easily kill you in the right circumstances. And given the fact that Elite Jounin, in my book, are people like Kakashi and Maito Gai who are experts if not masters in all shinobi arts (and yes, Gai can use ninjuts and genjutsu but just chooses to specialize in taijutsu), I can easily see them matching the raw power of Satans who are more like wide-area bombs without any precision.****

 ** **The same with Gods of Shinobi. Does Madara (without being the Jinchurriki of the Juubi) match the raw power of Sirzechs' true form? Of course not. But his sheer breadth of skills and straight up OP skills that have almost no defense (cough... Tsukuyomi... cough), would make him more than a match.****

 ** **As always, Read and Review!****


	6. Chapter 5

****Disclaimer:** **All publicly recognizable characters, setting, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. All other concepts and ideas from other books or stories belong to their respective authors. No copyright infringement is intended.****

* * *

 ** **Dimension Lost dimension, Dimensional Gap****

Everything stopped as the combatants took in the unexpected new arrival. Georg, the wielder of Dimension Lost, was especially surprised since he hadn't known it was even possible for anyone to enter a dimension he'd created without his approval. The fact this unknown had done so using a technique he didn't recognize or even sense until he was here was a bit unsettling to the supposed child genius magician.

With the newcomer in question, Kurama instantly assessed the situation even as he held Heracles' fist back with one hand. He spread all his senses to locate all possible combatants within the dimension, instantly identifying the unknowns as humans with powerful Sacred Gears, probably Longinuses considering their strength. Of them, the strongest was the smug-looking Chinese moron that was fighting Azazel with that gaudy-looking golden spear. It gave off the strongest aura among the Sacred Gears he could sense so he made a note to take down him first if it came to a fight. He noticed the Governor-General was wearing some weird gold and purple armor and filed it away for later.

However, Kurama scowled when he failed to sense his wife's energy anywhere nearby. Even though it had been a long time, his familiarity with her power meant he would instantly sense if she was nearby, even if she was hidden.

And by nearby, he meant anywhere within this dimension.

The fact that he couldn't sense her told him that she was either dead, which was unlikely, or more probable, that she was not within this dimension. And considering that he could sense the Dimension Lost user was the geek with glasses standing on the opposite shore, and he hadn't sensed her in true Kyoto, that meant she was in yet another dimension.

Could the Dimension Lost user create and maintain more than one dimension at a time?

It seemed unlikely but Kurama couldn't risk the possibility which meant he would have to keep the Dimension Lost user alive at all costs. For all he knew, killing the Dimension Lost user would cause any dimensions he created to collapse, killing everything inside them. While he could instantly teleport himself to safety, the chance of his wife being within a created dimension and being killed because of the user's death were too high.

All this, Kurama took in within the two heartbeats between what he said when he arrived and everyone noticing his presence.

Heracles looked surprised at the new arrival, noticing his revealed tails before smiling gleefully. "Well, well, well. Looks like a stray fox has joined the party! Ha! I hope this one is stronger than the last one! She was easy as hell to take down and no fun at all!" His face turned into a leering one. "Hot as hell though. Too bad she's a filthy youkai. I would have loved a piece of that."

Kurama's eyes sharpened at the admission of this man being involved with his wife's kidnapping as well as his crass statements about his wife. However, his wife's absence meant Kurama couldn't do what he really wanted which was rip this man head off. That didn't mean he would go unpunished though.

Heracles lost balance when the pressure holding his fist back disappeared, only to gasp in agony as Kurama punched him straight in the abdomen faster than he could react. This was compounded when Kurama slapped him aside with one of his tails, the force behind it causing the large man to go skipping across the water like a rock into the distance until he was far out of sight.

Kurama scoffed at how easy it had been to knock him out of the fight. Oh, he could sense that the brute wasn't dead or even unconscious but unless he had the ability to teleport or move quickly, he wouldn't be able returning to the fight anytime soon. That meant one less enemy to worry about for the upcoming fight.

Kurama looked around to take stock of what was happening, noticing both the weird monsters on the Hero side of the battlefield and how the Azazel had broken off from his fight with the Chinese brat with the golden spear. Said boy must be the leader considering how the other Sacred Gear wielders seemed to gather around where he landed. Kurama absently noticed that other than having his clothing a bit scuffed, he seemed unharmed so Kurama put him on par with Azazel in threat level.

Kurama then looked back to where the devils were standing only to do a double-take when he noticed a certain someone trying to hide behind Issei.

"Kunou?!" yelled Kurama out in shock, causing said kitsune girl to squeak and shyly peak out from behind Issei nervously. "What the fuck are you doing here?! You're supposed to be at the palace?!"

Kunou slowly came out from behind Issei, shyly scuffing the ground with her right foot. "Ano... I snuck out to meet Issei and company. They promised to help rescue Kaa-san and well..."

Kurama felt a migraine start to form at the girl's words. While he understood _why_ she did it, he was still extremely angry she had risked herself like that, coming out into the open without even her guards. What if the ones who kidnapped her mother took her as well? He wouldn't have even noticed until it may have been too late!

He refused to admit that most of his anger was out of fear of her being hurt or aimed at himself for being so stupid as to not make _sure_ she stayed at the palace. He inwardly admitted he probably would have done the same at her age if it was his sister or Yasaka in danger which only made him angrier remembering all the trouble he'd gotten into at her age.

And with a inward wince, he remembered how much stress and worry his actions caused his late sister. Talk about karma coming back to bite him in the ass.

"We will speak of this later," grit out Kurama, causing Kunou to flinch and look down dejectedly. Kurama sighed then looked toward the devils around her with a glare. "Your job for now is to keep Kunou safe. If anything happens to her, I swear I will make your deaths _legendary_."

It put a sour taste in his mouth to ensure Kunou's safety to _devils_ of all people but he really didn't have a choice. These so-called _heroes_ had been strong enough to take down and capture his wife, a Satan-class threat. He would need to dedicate all his attention to them or risk the same happening to him. After all, all it would take is a single moment of distraction for even someone as strong as him to be taken down in the right circumstances.

The devils in question shivered and gulped at Kurama's threat but nodded in acceptance. They would have protected her anyway but they would doubly do so now. They still remembered the beating they got the _last_ time he was angry at them and did not want a repeat.

Meanwhile, the negligent way Kurama had tossed Heracles aside had instantly put the Hero Faction members on their guard as they assessed the new threat. While only human, Heracles was still strong enough to contend with most supernatural beings when it came to brute strength so to have this newcomer slap him aside like a fly instantly sent up red had their guards up as they considered him warily.

The only exception being the smug Chinese brat with the golden spear who had only cocked an eyebrow at the show of strength. The following conversation between Kurama, Kunou and the devils easily told him who the newcomer was. "Ah, you must be Yasaka's husband, Kurama, that we have been hearing about so much lately," said the Chinese boy, who must be the one who called himself Cao Cao according to Makoto's information. "I must admit to being surprised to your being able to enter here without Georg's permission. You-"

"I'm going to give you one chance," cut off Kurama rudely, not interested in the arrogant brat's monologue in the slightest. He always found humans' necessity to monologue stuff during a fight to be utterly idiotic. "One chance and that only out of respect for my wife's desire for peace. Hand my wife over and I will let you all leave Kyoto with your limbs still attached to your bodies. If you don't..."

Kurama's flexed his power as a show of intimidation even though he knew it would be useless. If idiots were so easy to convince, Naruto wouldn't have had such problems making friends in his younger years. Idiots who thought themselves strong were even worse and these humans no doubt fell into this category.

It was a sadly recurring theme among humans in this dimension, heck, among all species even youkai. Give them a bit of power and they suddenly thought they were greatest thing since sliced bread. It was worse when that power wasn't even earned like Sacred Gear wielders. It suddenly gave them the belief that they were _special_ because they received their power due to the luck of the draw. They received this power so _obviously_ they must be _different_ and _unique_ and that gave them the right to do whatever they wanted.

Retards.

It was why he disdained nobles and other high-born beings. They didn't _earn_ their power and so never truly appreciated it. Azazel was a prime example. Instead of keeping his fellow Fallen in line, he wasted his time in his own idiotic pursuits, allowing his people to run wild, apologizing afterwards like we should just overlook his complete lack of leadership. Imbecile.

Say what you will about Kurama but he never forgot the responsibility that came with his power. Something that the so-called pureblood high-class beings often forgot.

But the one good thing about this was the weakness that came with such arrogance. Kurama could only internally scoff at the smug smile on Cao Cao's face, the fool no doubt thinking that he was smarter and stronger than Kurama. He no doubt thought that Kurama was no threat after defeating his "stronger" wife, Yasaka, despite eveything he'd no doubt heard about him.

Imbeciles. Kurama was surrounded by imbeciles. Oh well, it was the job of the older generation to kick the younger generation's ass, I mean, teach them their mistakes. And Kurama was more than willing to do just that.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," said Cao Cao with that condescending smug smile of his. "We need her for a little experiment we're planning tonight at Nijou castle. We're going to use the leylines and therefore, she's an important piece for the experiment. But you're welcome to come tonight to witness it. We'll give her back to you once we're done with her."

Only a slight twitch in his right eye betrayed the utter fury Kurama felt at the smug prick's words. The idea of his beloved Yasaka-hime being talked about like some cheap commodity ticked him off to no end but he, barely, controlled his instinctive impulse to turn the arrogant prick into a smear on the pavement.

Now wasn't the time to act rashly. His beloved Yasaka's safety was far more important than some arrogant brat's words and until he could personally ensure her safety, his pride and anger would have to take a backseat.

Though he made a mental note to make that smug prick's beating and eventual death _especially_ painful.

"I see," said Kurama, outwardly calm. "Then I guess we have nothing more to discuss."

Cao Cao had been expecting it. After all, why wouldn't someone respond violently when told they were going to continue to hold their loved one hostage? Especially animals like these youkai?

Yet despite his having expected it and preparing himself beforehand, he still couldn't follow it. To his eyes, one moment the kitsune youkai was standing on the bridge and the next he was right in front of him and punching at Cao Cao with enough force to destroy a building. If it wasn't for the automatic shield that the True Longinus placed around him to protect him from instantly lethal attacks, he would have been killed on the spot.

As it was, Cao Cao was blasted back into the distance and even through a few buildings from the force of the punch that the True Longinus' shield couldn't block alone.

The other Hero Faction members didn't fare any better, being too shocked by his raw speed to react fast enough to his presence among them. While Kurama used his fist to punch the smug boy away, he had lashed out with his tails at the four others. The blonde girl barely managed to dodge the first tail but was thrown away by the second. To her credit, she managed to roll with the hit since it hadn't had much strength behind it and land on her feet a short distance away.

The geeky brat with glasses seemed to have a sort of automatic magical shield much like the Chinese brat but was still thrown away from the force, though not as far as Cao Cao was. He fell on his backside but soon scrambled to his feet, a magic circle forming before him.

The short weird kid was protected by some equally strange creature; a monster with black skin, standing upright on two legs with very sharp claws and teeth. Whatever they were, they seemed to be pretty solidly built because while Kurama barely put much strength behind the strike, at least compared to his full strength which was still strong enough to break stone, it wasn't weak by any means. So the way it seemingly shrugged off the hit was pretty impressive. Of course, it did nothing to stop the second tail which crawled between the monsters' legs, grabbed the weird boy's legs and threw him aside like nothing, hitting the pavement nearby hard enough that he coughed a bit of blood.

Looks like he wasn't that physically compared to even the magician of the group.

The last one was a white-haired swordsman considering the swords at his waist and he had the best luck of the four. He instantly reacted, showing he probably had the most battle experience of the group, instantly drawing the swords at his waist to defend himself from Kurama's tails. The swords were extremely sharp and if Kurama hadn't been reinforcing his tails with chakra then they would have easily been cut off. As it was, Kurama had to pull back his tails with a hiss as he felt light cuts form where the swords clashed with his tails.

Still, he achieved his objective which was to separate the leader from the group. With barely a thought, a Tank Shadow Clone appeared behind him before blasting off toward where Cao Cao was thrown. He would deal with the brat while he played with these four brats.

"Now," said Kurama with a bloodthirsty grin and cracking knuckles. "Why don't we dance a little bit?"

With that, Kurama charged at his enemies with a bloodthirsty and excited grin.

* * *

Back with Kunou and the devil group, the group watched in slight shock as Kurama easily handled a group that had been giving them so much trouble until he arrived. With Issei and Rossweisse temporarily out of action for different reasons, the group had been far short in terms of offensive might. As it was, they barely managed to take down the hordes of antimonsters summoned by the Annihilation Maker as well as the group of female grunts that attacked them.

When Siegfried entered the fray and took on Kiba, Xenovia and Irina alone, they had realized how outclassed they were. With Issei lacking the ability to use Boosted Gear and the three capable of fighting busy, they hadn't been able to do anything when Heracles broke off and attacked Issei directly.

Really, Kurama's appearance had been really lucky for Issei and that bothered him. After going so far and getting stronger, he was once again too weak to help his friends and nothing more than dead weight. It angered Issei deeply and the fact that the reason he was so powerless was currently the only reason he was still alive only made it worse.

"Tou-san," whispered Kunou just loud enough for them to hear. "He's really strong. He'll save Kaa-san for sure."

Issei should be happy that someone so strong was helping rescue Yasaka but he couldn't help but think that he could help as well if he hadn't sealed away his Boosted Gear.

Azazel was also watching the fight between Kurama and the Hero Faction with critical eyes. "He's holding back."

Everyone turned to Azazel at his words, confused by them. "What do you mean, Azazel-san?" asked Irina in confusion. "Why would he do that?"

Even as she spoke, Kurama easily danced around Siegfried's sword swings while holding Jeanne back with three tails and destroying any antimonster summoned by the weird boy with his other tails with negligent ease.

"Because Yasaka isn't here," said Azazel absently as he watched Kurama closely. "He can't risk killing any of them or they might retreat, taking Yasaka with them. If they do that, we might never find them again until they reveal themselves and by then it might be too late. Right now, he's just taking the measure of the enemy so that he can take them down easily when it counted."

Issei couldn't believe that Kurama was actually that strong. Was he really playing around with people that were giving them such a hard time earlier? Just how strong was he?

Issei turned back to the fight, remembering Kurama's words about him being useless without Boosted Gear, realizing that perhaps he might be right.

* * *

Back in the fight in question, Kurama was doing exactly as Azazel said he was, taking his opponent's measure and so far...

…. he wasn't impressed.

 _'Subject: Siegfried,'_ thought Kurama as he dodged another three sword swings, ignoring the demonic aura surrounding the swords with ease. _'Mix of Power and Speed type, specializing in weapons, specifically demonic swords. Type of combat: completely offensive with very little true defense or support attacks. Wields the a mutated form of the common Sacred Gear Twice Critical.'_

 _'Strengths:,'_ continued Kurama as absently destroyed three more antimonsters with his tails, his body on autopilot as he continued to avoid said swordsman's swings. _'Extremely high level of swordsmanship combined with battle experience and the sharpness of the demonic swords means only a single strike could win him most fights. His reflexes are high enough to react instantly to even foes much faster than him.'_

 _'Weaknesses: Over-reliance of demonic swords and probable lack of hand to hand combat ability due to this. Possible lack of any magical ability as well means he's overspecialized in swordsmanship.'_ Kurama dodged backwards to avoid a spell from Glasses before reengaging Siegfried once more. _'Possible strategy: deprive subject of swords and land lethal blow before he can react. Threat Level: Moderate in close combat, Low in any other ranges.'_

Kurama's tails once again clashed with Jeanne's holy swords, the chakra running through them proving more than a match for the fake Holy Swords.

 _'Subject: Jeanne,'_ thought Kurama, turning to his other enemy. _'Pure Speed type, also specializing in weapons, specifically the holy swords created by her Sacred Gear Blade Blacksmith. Type of combat: Highly offensive as well with her defense revolving around dodging attacks rather than tanking them. Considerably slower reflexes than Siegfried suggests less combat experience and therefore, ability to contend with faster opponents.'_

 _'Strengths: Sacred Gear's capabilities can be extremely versatile and dangerous in the right hands.'_ Kurama jumped to avoid a blast from an antimonster, lashing out with one tail to pierce it through the skull, killing it instantly. _'Swordsmanship, while not as high as Siegfried, is high enough to contend with most demonic threats. Weaknesses: Relatively low swordsmanship compared to Siegfried points to over-reliance on holy swords advantage over devils to make up for the relative lack of power behind her strikes. Furthermore, has serious lack of imagination in how to use her Sacred Gear, using it for nothing more than direct strikes and summoning swords beneath the enemy in hopes of catching them off-guard. Possible strategy: lack of reflexes and lack of defense means a fast enough opponent can bypass her guard and cut her down before she can react. Threat level: Low, can be moderate if skill with Sacred Gear increases.'_

Kurama disappeared from Siegfried and Jeanne's range to appear before Georg who barely summoned a magic circle in time to block his punch.

 _'Subject: Georg,'_ thought Kurama as he dodged the return spell fire and studied the third opponent. _'Stationary type like most magicians, specializing in long-range magical bombardment and support. Mainly a support fighting style who uses his magical abilities to support his more aggressive allies though does not lack in offensive and defensive viability on his own.'_

 _'Strengths:,'_ Kurama sidestepped an attempt to cleave in half from behind by Siegfried and used his tails to block a trio of flying holy swords from Jeanne. _'Extremely intelligent and no doubt taking stock of my own abilities just as I am theirs. Has a wide knowledge of dozens of magical styles ranging from Norse to Fairy type giving him a wide pool of knowledge to draw from to combat most if not all types of threats.'_

 _'Weaknesses:,'_ thought Kurama as he reengaged the two close-range combatants. _'Lack of experience means there is a second or two hesitation between switching magical styles. No doubt he is smart but not experienced and the leader is the one who identifies enemy weaknesses and tells him what to do. Furthermore, like all magicians, he lacks any physical strength of his own, meaning he is a glass cannon. Can dish out a lot of damage but can hardly take any himself. Possible strategy: maneuver him to a predetermined spot where one can lay a trap of some kind and blitz him before he can react. Threat level: Low.'_

Kurama had to break off his thoughts when the two close-range combatants jumped back just as a barrage of what looked like magical missiles crashed down around Kurama. Luckily, he had reflexively used Hiraishin when he sensed the incoming danger, appearing a short distance away.

Looking toward where the missiles went showed a glowing Heracles standing near Georg who was probably the one who used his magic to summon him back into the fight.

 _'Subject: Heracles,'_ thought Kurama as said brute charged him, the ground where Kurama was standing before he absently dodged it exploding both from the force of the punch and Heracles' Sacred Gear. ' _Obviously a power type who focuses on close combat and brute strength. Given the lack of noticeable damage from his previous attack shows subject has a immense amount of durability. That and his lack of noticeable speed means the subject is a tank: he takes a large amount of damage and dishes a large amount as well.'_

The three close-range combatants tried to attack him at once but met a unsurprising lack of success, the conflicting styles meaning they got in each other's way more often than not. Kurama barely had to do more than dodge once in a while allowing to focus on sizing up the large brute.

 _'Strengths: Large amount of brute strength for a human means unless one has an equal amount of durability, one hit can take someone out of the fight.'_ Kurama jumped back and attacked with his tails, keeping the three fighters back for a bit before he had to dodge a blast from an antimonster. _'Combined with his Sacred Gear which is obviously Variant Detonation, makes for a devastating offense for the unprepared.'_

 _'However,'_ thought Kurama as he negligently punched through an antimonster's skull. _'He has an equally large weakness. Mostly that he has no true speed of his own and his durability is definitely not as high as his namesake meaning it can be overcome. Furthermore, while his strength is high, it isn't anything out of this world, once again like his namesake, so in a fight just as strong and better trained, he would be overwhelmed. Possible strategy: Use superior speed to blitz him and land a lethal blow before he can react. Threat level: Low.'_

 _'And now for the last subject: Leonardo,'_ thought Kurama as he focused on the boy in question, blitzing him while simultaneously dodging the three close-range combatants, destroying the monsters between him and the boy easily. _'Definitely a stationary type like Georg but relying almost solely on his Sacred Gear Annihilation Maker in place of magical spells. He has almost no power or speed of his own, completely relying on his Sacred Gear and definitely has no durability of his own. His style of combat is long-range support through his monsters which can vary in ability and technique depending on his desires.'_

Kurama broke off engaging the boy when he summoned three large monsters between them. Lashing out with his tails showed they were much stronger than the previous ones and required more than one hit to destroy. Not wanting to pinned down and attacked from all sides, Kurama once again used Hiraishin to teleport to the bridge, his mind finishing going over what he learned so far.

 _'Strengths: Abilities of monsters are only limited by his knowledge and imagination meaning they can be dangerous in the right circumstances. Weaknesses: Boy is still maturing meaning his Sacred Gear's abilities are still limited. Also, the boy himself is extremely weak combat wise and is useless without his Sacred Gear. Probable strategy: seal Sacred Gear away much like Issei's and boy ceases to be a threat. Threat level: Low.'_

Kurama stood tall as his opponent's turned to him warily, each having realized how out of their league he was compared to them and no doubt preparing to activate their Balance Breakers.

He thought over what he learned and came to the same conclusion as before.

These brats were an overwhelming disappointment.

Oh, their abilities individually were impressive and if allowed to mature further and explore more about their Sacred Gears, they can be quite a threat in the future. However, they struck too fast and too soon before they had a chance to fully mature and explore all aspects of their Sacred Gears. The magician never used his Dimension Lost in conjunction with his magic, showing he didn't know how to use it beyond basic applications, depriving him of a possibly extremely dangerous variable and his best weapon.

The white-haired swordsman was too overspecialized and hadn't learned any magic or anything to cover his weaknesses, completely depending on swordsmanship to win. The blonde girl was the same but worse. She easily had one of the most variable and potentially dangerous Sacred Gears yet uses it so one-dimensional it was actually painful to watch. And Heracles was little more than a walking tank that depended far too much on his barely above-average strength and durability to see him through. Heck, even Naruto had had a healing factor to make up for whenever he made a mistake. He doubted the brute had that much going for him so the next time he overestimated himself, it would be fatal.

As for the weird boy with Annihilation Maker... the less said the better.

But the biggest failure of theirs was two things: their lack of teamwork and experience.

Each of their weaknesses can be compensated by one of the others but it was painfully obvious they weren't used to working alongside anyone much less each other. Their team attacks were awkward, slow and got in each other's way most of the time. It was painfully obvious that at least the close-range combatants were more dangerous individually than together.

But far worse was their lack of experience. Specifically, their lack of experience in losing.

Their battle strategies had obviously worked time and time again to the point that they were almost incapable of adapting mid-combat. When faced with an opponent where their strategy didn't work against, they didn't adapt but rather pressed on as if hoping it would eventually work. They tried to team up but their lack of experience doing so made it more of hindrance than anything. To be blunt, it was obvious they had never lost a battle using their respective strategies before and so were too arrogant when it came to it.

It was almost the opposite of Kurama himself who had been forced to constantly adapt and create new strategies due to lack of inherent talent. He had been forced to find dozens of new ways to apply the few skills he had in order to keep up and defeat opponents much stronger. Kurama hadn't been a master of any one trick but rather a jack of all trades who had become extremely proficient in all of them. A swiss army knife compared to the swords of this world.

But now, with the near unlimited power of the Biju combined with centuries of battle experience through the eyes of his wardens which gave him a large pool of knowledge when it came to chakra techniques... well, Kurama was almost unstoppable once he got going.

Heck, if he didn't need these brats alive, he would have killed them within seconds of the fight starting.

All in all, Kurama had lost all interest in this fight and was annoyed that he couldn't just finish them off rather than continue to waste his time with them. The adrenaline rushing through him at the prospect of a fight had left leaving him feeling more like a bully picking on a bunch of kids which left a bad taste in his mouth.

Off in the distance large explosions sounded showing where his clone was fighting with the leader. He couldn't but feel like his clone got the better deal between the two fights. He had thought fighting so many at once would be more challenging but now he thinks he would have had more fun fighting Cao Cao.

Oh well, might as well knock them out. Maybe he could use them as hostages to make the leader give Yasaka over. He doubted it but who knows, he might get lucky and finally fight a bad guy that actually cares for his subordinates.

Before he could do so though, the fight between his clone and Cao Cao returned here, said clone landing beside him while Cao Cao landing less gracefully near his subordinates.

Kurama turned to see the happy grin on his clone's face as well as the few burns and cuts on his body. "Have fun?"

"Oh yeah," said the clone happily. "The guy might be an arrogant prick but he definitely has the strength to back it up."

"Tch, lucky," muttered Kurama before absently dispelling the clone, receiving all its memories. Since he knew that similar techniques in this world didn't have the memory transfer that shadow clones did, that meant the leader would think he knew all of Kurama's techniques while he didn't know his.

Kurama looked to where his clone and Cao Cao fought, seeing a large trench of fire running through the center of the fake Kyoto where his clone used a Great Fire Annihilation. He had been so into dissecting his enemies' techniques that he hadn't even noticed though it said something about the brat that his clone used it at all considering it was one of his stronger attacks.

"Lucky bastard," muttered Kurama in slight depression as he realizes his clone definitely got the better deal. These brats barely made him sweat.

Cao Cao looked frazzled and not as confident now as he did before. Almost being barbecued did that to a person. "I must admit, you are stronger than I anticipated," said Cao Cao, much more wary now than before. "Our information states that you're weaker than Yasaka but I guess it must be outdated. You are much stronger not to mention more experienced."

Kurama smirked. "What I can say? My wife is the velvet glove while I'm the steel fist underneath."

Cao Cao nodded in understanding. "I see. I will take that into consideration and not underestimate you again."

Both sides got ready for the second clash which would be the one where no one was holding back. Kurama could sense them readying their Balance Breakers, no longer willing to hold back.

But before they could engage, they were interrupted by the appearance of a magic circle between them.

Out of the circle came cute middle school-age blonde girl with a slim body and blue eyes. Her attire consisted of a sorceress-like dress, a huge blue hat with a black bow and yellow stars with a matching cape with pink flowers and a white interior.

All in all she looked like your stereotypical blonde witch.

Cao Cao seemed to recognize her since he paused. "Le Fay Pendragon? What are you doing here?"

The now-named Le Fay smiled happily and waved at Cao Cao. "Hello, Cow-kun! Nice to see you! One moment please!"

Kurama tried not to snort when he heard the nickname the cute girl gave him. Cow-kun. Classic.

Le Fay skipped over to a shocked Issei with a small blush. "I'm a big fan of Chichiryuutei, the Oppai Dragon! I-if you're not too busy, can you shake hands with me!"

Issei seemed more shocked by her being a fan than by her appearance and after looking at Azazel, who gave an encouraging nod, he shakily shook hands with the girl. The girl smiled happily at his action, looking for all the world as if she'd achieved a dream of hers.

Cao Cao looked as bemused as Kurama felt. "So what is a member of Vali's team doing here, Le Fay?"

That seemed to break the girl out of her spell and turned back to the matter at hand with a mischievous smile on her face. "Oh, I'm here to send a message from Vali-kun! 'I thought I told you not to disturb me!' - that's the message oh -You need to be punished for trying to put us under surveillance ~~"

Just as she said that the ground shook and fractured where she had appeared. Kurama instantly jumped back, landing in front of Kunou and between her and the new arrival in case she proved hostile.

Out of the ground burst what looked like a giant stone statue at least ten meters tall. It stood tal and roared in Cao Cao's direction who only looked bemused at the act.

"Gogmagog!" yelled Azazel in surprise as he identified the stone giant.

"Yep," said Le Fay cutely. "This is our new team member Gogz-kun!"

Kurama heard Azazel explained that it was a weapon created by the ancient gods millennia ago that was supposed to be deactivated and dropped in the Dimensional Gap. Apparently, Vali found it while traveling through the Dimensional Gap a while ago and added it to their team.

The stone giant charged at the Hero Faction who quickly moved out of the way as it slammed its fist down where they had been standing on the bridge, causing the entire structure to collapse as well as destroying a whole bunch of antimonsters just from the shockwave alone. Good thing it was only a replica because if not Yasaka would be _pissed_. She really loved that bridge.

The stone giant turned to continue its attacks only to be stopped cold and actually sent falling back when Cao Cao extended the True Longinus to pierce its shoulder.

"Gogz-kun!" yelled Le Fay in distress. No doubt she hadn't expected it to be taken down so easily.

True, it might be big and strong but it was basically just a bigger Heracles. And considering the piercing power that the True Longinus showed from his clone's memories, it was nowhere near durable enough.

Kurama quickly dashed to the fallen giant, landing on it and using Hiraishin to teleport the stone giant away from another hit from the True Longinus, one that probably would have caused it a lot more damage.

Le Fay quickly ran over to the fallen giant and used some magic to start healing it or at least fixing it. Kurama walked over and bopped her on the head lightly, getting a small cry.

"Idiot," said Kurama softly but sternly. "Don't underestimate your enemy just to prove a point. He may be an arrogant brat but Cao Cao is a brat that can back it up. Now stay back and heal your friend while I handle this."

Le Fay gave a subdued nod making Kurama turn back to where the Hero Faction had regathered, completely missing the jealous look Kunou sent Le Fay.

However, before he could attack them, Kurama was brought short when he noticed a familiar silver-haired figure stumbling toward the enemy.

"Rossweisse?!" yelled Kurama in confusion.

"...Hey. Itsh sssooo noisshy people can't ssssleep (hic!) properly here!" yelled Rossweisse drunkenly as she glared at a spot five feet to the left of the Hero Faction.

Kurama had to face palm at the sight. Just great. If Rossweisse was anything like her mother and grandmother when they were drunk then it was very good that this was all fake because... well, let's just say the last time her grandmother got drunk they had to use a lot of memory magic and an excuse of a brace of tornadoes to explain away the destruction.

Rossweisse continued to glare in the general direction of the Hero Faction. "Whatssh the matter? You want a fight? Sho! I'll ssshhhow y'all the power of old man Odin's former bodyguard valkyrie!" As she said that, dozens if not hundreds of magic circles appeared in the air around her, all aiming in the direction of the surprised Hero Faction. "Tassste my Norssssh magic which countersssss all attributessss, all fairiessss, and all divine exisssstencessss!"

Oh yeah, she was definitely that old crone's daughter. He made a mental note to never have any alcohol within ten miles of her whenever she was in Kyoto. There was no way he could cover the property damage.

Kurama then remembered how Yasaka got when _she_ was drunk and made another note to _never_ have those two get drunk at the same time or within twenty miles of each other. He didn't think he could explain away the entire city being destroyed.

However, Kurama was brought out of his thoughts when he saw the Hero Faction's response. Georg summoned a large amount of mist which intercepted all the attacks aimed in their direction, leaving them all unharmed as his Sacred Gear seemed to send the attacks away to another dimension, probably the Dimensional Gap.

 _'Correction,'_ thought Kurama as he studied the glasses-wearing boy. _'Upgrade threat level of Georg to moderate.'_

Once the barrage stopped, Georg lowered his barrier and Cao Cao stepped forward. "There seems to be too many interruptions so we'll continue this later tonight. I'll see you all at Nijou castle."

And with that, the group was covered in a large amount of mist and disappeared. Once they did, mist started to cover all of them as the dimension broke down. Kurama heard Azazel state they were being sent back to the real Kyoto and Kurama quickly hid his tails as he walked over to a fallen Rossweisse, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

The world seemed to shine for a moment before they all appeared at a once more pristine copy of their previous location, though the presence of various humans showed they were back in Kyoto proper.

Kurama walked over to Kunou who noticed his approach, causing her ears to droop at the look on her face.

"We'll talk about this at home, Kunou," said Kurama sternly, causing said girl to nod sadly. He then turned to the devil group. "Well, thanks for being good bait and drawing my wife's kidnappers out. However, your job here is done. I know where to find Yasaka tonight and I'll rescue her myself. For your help, I'll allow you all to leave Kyoto in one piece. Be thankful."

As Kurama turned and started to walk away, he heard Issei call him causing him to turn slightly to look at the boy. "Hey, where are you taking Rossweisse?"

Kurama cocked an eyebrow. "Back to the palace, of course. If she's anything like her mother and grandmother, she'll have a massive headache from the alcohol and will need to recover. Her mother and grandmother are old friends and I knew her when she was little so it's no problem for her to be healed at the palace. With the Hero Faction around, she'll be safer there."

Issei looked like he was about to argue but a hand on his shoulder by Azazel stopped him. "We're thankful for the generosity. However, are you sure you won't need our help?"

Kurama's face hardened. "I'm sure. Make no mistake, Governor-General. While your unknowing work as bait was helpful, I haven't forgotten both your race's and the devils hand in hunting my family like animals. We are far from being _close_ to being on good terms."

"Yasaka wanted to make a treaty between our factions," pointed out Azazel calmly, getting a glare from Kurama. "She might think differently."

"I love my wife," said Kurama softly before his eyes started to glow red. "But if she pushes me on this I will overthrow her and take over the Youkai Faction myself. In this, I will not budge. There will be no treaty or even peace between our factions until your races answer for your crimes."

Azazel looked grim at his blunt declaration of overthrowing Yasaka if she pushed him on this and the fact was he could easily see Kurama do it. Even with the leylines' power, Kurama was far more powerful so it would probably be easy for him to do.

Beside him, Kunou looked shocked and afraid when Kurama declared he would overthrow her mother if she argued with him on this. She didn't want her parents to fight! What if her tou-san left again and this time never came back!?

Kurama once again started to walk away when he was once again called back, getting him to growl in irritation. "What now?!"

Issei gulped at the anger on his face but eventually spoke. "Can you unseal my Boosted Gear please? Without it I'm useless."

Kurama studied the boy for a moment before speaking. "I will remove the seal." Issei started to smile when he dropped his bombshell. "But only if you all leave Kyoto."

"What?!" yelled out Issei, echoed by the other devils and angel in the background.

"You heard me," said Kurama sternly. "You still have my Hiraishin seal on you so I'll sense the moment you leave Kyoto. Do so and I will teleport to you and remove the seal. But if you stay here, I will leave it on permanently."

"But!" said Issei in a panic. "What about Yasaka-sama!? I promised Kunou I'd rescue her mother!"

"That is no longer your concern," said Kurama with a growl, not missing the slightly perverted gleam in his eye when he mentioned his wife. "I will rescue my wife. I'm more than capable enough so you don't have to worry."

"You have to choose," continued Kurama when he saw Issei about to argue. "Either your power or your word. Choose which is more important to you."

Before Issei could say anything more, Kurama used Hirashin to teleport back to the palace, leaving a visibly torn and frustrated Issei behind.

* * *

Kurama, a still drunk and giggling Rossweisse and Kunou appeared in front of the palace in a red flash. Quickly, a bunch of palace servants saw their arrival and walked toward them, the old tengu among them. Turning to Kunou, Kurama glared down at the girl, easing up when he saw her flinch.

Sighing, Kurama rubbed his face. "I can understand why you did it, Kunou, but it doesn't change the fact that you shouldn't have left the palace. Especially without your guards. So until I say otherwise, you're to stay in your room. Do you understand?"

Kunou nodded sadly and left with the kitsune lady who placed a hand on her shoulder and led her away. Seeing the droop in Kunou's figure, Kurama sighed.

"Kunou," said Kurama quietly, causing the girl to stop and turn. "I'm not angry but I was worried about you. Please... don't do that again."

That seemed to perk her up slightly and she shyly nodded her head before continuing back to her room.

Kurama was reminded of Rossweisse when said drunken valkyrie pinched his butt. "What the-!? Did you just pinch me?!"

"Muuuu," said the still drunk woman. "You're touching my butt so it's only fair I touch yoursssss!"

Kurama blinked at her words and realized that yes, his hand had indeed unknowingly landed on her butt as he carried her. Blushing slightly, Kurama then yelped when Rossweisse started to molest his butt.

"Rossweisse! Stop that!" Now that it had been brought to his attention, he tried to ignore the softness of Rossweisse's own derrierre (which he absently noticed was quite considerable) as well as the feel of her large breasts against his back. Not even remembering that he knew her when she was little helped stop the tightness in his pants from forming.

"Muuuu," slurred Rossweisse before giggling. "It's so firm! Yasaka is a lucky woman to have a husband with such a firm butt!"

"Here," snapped Kurama as he handed the drunk valkyrie over to some nearby servants. "Take her to the infirmary and help her get over her drunkenness and the accompanying hangover."

Giggling, the two maids did as he told though not before they sent a slight leer in his direction. He distinctly heard them start to wonder out loud whether his butt was as firm as their charge said it was.

Pushing down his blush (and ignoring the old tengu's snickering), he turned to the old tengu with only a slight blush on his cheeks. "Has the council been gathered?"

Stopping his snickering with effort, the old tengu responded. "Yes, hehehehe, yes sir. They have all arrived and are waiting for you in the council room."

Kurama nodded and decided to take the long way to the council room.

Hopefully by then his... _stiffness_ would have passed. The last thing he needed was to greet the council members with _that_ pointing at them.

* * *

Kurama entered the council room, stopping all talk once they saw him arrive. The council members stood and gave him the respectful greeting due his station which he returned.

Once that was done, they all sat and Kurama looked them over.

"Now, let's begin the first meeting to talk about what to do about the devils' actions against the nekomata four years ago," said Kurama firmly as he sat down.

At his words, he had the undivided attention of the entire room.

* * *

 ** **AN: And there's chapter 5!****

 ** **I know it took a while but here's the next chapter. I know there was a bit of argument over my power rankings last chapter but I put a more detailed one in my companion piece to this and I',m sticking to it. You might argue but that's what I'm using and period.****

 ** **Once again thanks to**** **elmoryakhan** ** **for all his help but also to my cousin, SithAlex2014, for pushing me to finish this. It probably would have taken longer without both of their help. I also want to point you guys to my cousin's new fic, Invictus, which he published yesterday. The prologue alone is really good and I'm really looking forward to the next chapter.****

 ** **Any questions or doubts please PM me because I usually forget to address them by the time I publish the next chapter.****

 ** **As always, Read and Review!****


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